Valley Forge
by djinni14
Summary: This is the story about the Valley Forge and her crew. The places they go and the lives that they lead. - NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 1**

Kate woke up and felt him beside her. He was still there even if it was his room and not hers. Also they were both still naked. She slowly twisted around so she could look at him. The movement let her know that they'd been very physical last night and the ache in her muscles told her that their time together was going to cost her most of the day today. Not that she cared; it had been amazing.

He was a big man and that alone had almost gotten him disqualified for this job. She was tall with really long legs and she was also athletic in build. Her height had also almost gotten her disqualified for this job as well.

He was so cute while he slept. He had such a peaceful face. Completely different from when he was working likely much like she was when she was working. Thinking of work had her looking at her wrist to see what time it was. She'd always managed to wake up without an alarm though she did have one in her room exactly like the one that was in Rick's room.

"Are you staring at me?" Rick asked softly with a sleepy-sounding voice.

"And if I am?" Kate began smiling widely.

"It's creepy." After opening his eyes, Rick reached out to draw her closer to his body.

Kate went willingly though she needed to leave. "We don't have time. I need to run to my room take a quick shower then get to the bridge." Staying here in his arms had its advantages, but she had a job to do.

"We could make round…" Rick had to think about that. "Four, it could be quick." He took her hand and moved it down to show her that he was ready.

Kate gladly wrapped her fingers around his erection and truly wanted to succumb to his idea. "You're going to have to take care of that yourself. I have to run." Though she did lean in to kiss him soundly as she rolled out of his bed and went in search of her clothes. She didn't know how her clothes got so scattered. She was bending over to pick up her panties and saw him still lying in bed. She also saw that his erection had gotten bigger. "Like what you see?" She was sure she was giving him a free look.

"You're an evil woman, Captain Beckett," Rick answered, willing her to come back to his bed; he began smiling when she did just that. He felt her hand wrap around his erection as she leaned down to kiss him again.

"You have no idea, tree hugger." She gave his erection a quick kiss and started putting on her clothes. "I have to run. Enjoy your day digging in the dirt." She skipped putting everything back on and headed for his door.

"You're just jealous," he teased.

"Get to work, Castle. That's an order." Kate opened his door and left him. She didn't notice the smile all the way to her room which was just the other side of the hall.

Their rooms were more suites than simple rooms. It was one of the few indulgences that was part of this job. They didn't have any real glass but they did have a lot of cameras attached to the ship that showed any number of looks. You could pick any view you chose and place it on one of two screens that were floor to ceiling and six feet wide each.

Rick sighed then rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom so he could take a shower and deal with the problem she'd left him with. Moments later with a touch of water and a lot of air running over his body, he screamed out his orgasm as he took care of himself. Visions of a naked Captain Beckett in his head helped a lot.

Done with the bathroom and still naked, he walked over to a wall and chose a view. They were slowly headed for the rings of Saturn. It was going to take them a number of days to actually reach them. Once there the plan was to go round Saturn and head back toward home. Rick walked to his closet, chose one of his work suits, and sat down to put on his boots. A very happy Richard Castle left his room and headed to Dome 3 to start his day.

Kate had taken an even faster shower even though she was reliving what she had just done. Pinching her nipples and running a finger between her nether lips, she wished she could have stayed for round four.

A smiling Captain Beckett headed for the bridge to start her day. If anyone had asked her before she took this job if she would ever fall for a guy like Castle she would have laughed in their face. It was just that Richard Castle wasn't like any of the _Tree Huggers_ that had been in the news. He was committed to his work and was a perfect choice for this job. She had taken this job perfectly willing to go without being involved with anyone.

Kate stopped at the door and composed herself before opening it and stepping into the tight and crowded bridge. Leslie greeted her. "You're right on time."

"That's my job." Kate walked over to a panel and put in her code. "You're relieved," Kate informed her. She watched her step to the same panel and put in her code.

"I stand relieved. B4 is on the outside of the ship doing maintenance. We had a pressure drop and he's out there trying to isolate it. We're on course. _Yellowstone_ and _Glacier_ report a problem with their long-range scanners. _Mojave_ has advised of an issue with one the mountings for Dome 4. Communications from base are expected in 9 hours. Nothing else to report." Leslie saluted and left the bridge.

Kate moved over to the communications panel and put in a code. "B4, what have you got?" What she got back was a series of beeps and whistles which required her to check a readout. "Get a valve from storage and take B6 with you when you replace it." She received beeps and whistles in response.

Satisfied with his response, she moved over to take a look at the radar screen. " _Yellowstone_ and _Glacier."_ Kate singled them out from their formation of eight ships. They were both on the outside of the grouping. The _Valley Forge_ was the only ship that was in tight to the anticipated swing around the outside of the rings. She would give them a chance to fix their problem before she voiced her concerns to the captain of the _Berkshire_ who was in overall command of their group.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Meanwhile, Rick was down on his hands and knees picking ripe wild strawberries from the plants in this section of this dome. He finished, picked up his container, and headed to the kitchen. Once there he started gathering what he would need.

Some mix, an egg and a little butter, and he was mixing before adding a touch of milk. Satisfied, he began pouring out his batter on the hot flat surface and waited before flipping.

He garnished them with a couple pats of butter, some powdered sugar and a squirt of whipped cream then went over to the communications panel. "Breakfast." Rick went back to the plates, sprinkled several sliced strawberries onto the whip cream, and picked up a plate. He started to leave after picking up a glass of milk.

"Pancakes!" Paul walked inside and saw what Rick had in his hand and tried to take it from him.

"Uh-uh, this is for the captain who can't leave the bridge. Yours and Leslie's are over there waiting for you." Rick moved the plate out of his range and stepped through the door.

"You may be a tree hugger, Castle, but you're a damn good cook." Paul, like a lot of people on Earth, didn't have a great love for what the man did, but he more than made up for it in a lot of what he cooked for them.

Rick had big plans for their meal tonight. "Wait until you see dinner." He saw Leslie walking toward the kitchen; he simply gave her a nod and kept on walking.

He heard Leslie greet her husband before the door closed behind her. "Hey, babe!"

Rick had a problem. His hands were full and he needed to input his code to get on the bridge. There were a few areas on the ship that required you to put in a code to gain entry. A log was kept of every person who entered and left.

He carefully put the glass on the plate, making sure it was balanced, and then put in his code before snatching the glass off the plate before he lost it; he walked inside. He found Kate bent over a panel that she using a finger to scan. "Breakfast is served." Rick put his plate on her panel and put the glass on the edge. "Would you like me to hand-feed you?" He picked up a strawberry and showed it to her, ready to delicately place it in her open mouth.

"I'm a big girl, Castle, I can feed myself." Kate wasn't interested. She was in captain-mode now and was in her space.

"Your loss." Rick popped her little strawberry in his mouth. "Anything happening?" He looked around and was still amazed at how much she liked this tight and slightly gloomy place. If it wasn't for all the displays and light they gave off he would swear this place was a graveyard.

Kate poured the little bit of syrup that came with her breakfast on the pancakes and picked up her fork to start cutting. "B4 and B6 are outside so you can't have them; other than that nothing's happening." Nothing he needed to know about, anyway.

She took a bite and moaned a little. She had long since learned that Castle was an excellent cook. His pancakes were smooth and just melted in her mouth.

"Don't make sounds like that," Rick protested.

Kate cut another piece. "You didn't complain about me moaning last night." She kicked herself for falling for that. She was on the bridge and wanted to remain focused. Letting Castle remind her about last night was not what she needed. She decided to get tough on him. "Shouldn't you be working? Or do I need to put you on report?"

"I'm going, I'm going." Rick headed for the door. "Your place tonight?" He was dying to see what her suite looked like.

"We have inventory tomorrow and you know it, so you're going to need your sleep. We have to start making room for our supply run. Now get off my bridge and get back to work." Kate took a bite and didn't moan this time.

"Aye, aye, Captain!" He saluted and turned to leave. "Is that thing supposed to be blinking like that?" he pointed, continuing to walk away.

Kate sighed lightly and took another bite before moving over to the communications panel and accepting the call. "Captain Bell, what can I do for you?"

"Your morning report was missing something," he informed her tersely.

She thought about it and didn't see that she'd left anything that he needed to know off of her report. "My report was complete with all the information you need as captain of this fleet."

Kate thought he looked angry. "Perhaps I should come over and obtain the answer in person."

"That will **not** be necessary and since you can't seem to take the hint, I'll make it plain so you and your simple mind can understand. I have no interest in having sex with you," she said coldly. "Not today, not tomorrow, or even a year from now – or any day after this tour ends. If you so much as set foot on my ship that does not have something to do with being a Fleet Captain, I will shoot you, drag your dead body over to the airlock, and eject it out into space. Now leave me alone, I have work to do." Kate killed the transmission and punched in the code to lock out calls from the _Berkshire_ for the next two hours. "ASSHOLE!"

There were eight ships in the fleet. Each ship had six domes. Each dome was filled with plants and wildlife that represented each country participating in this plan.

The _Valley Forge_ and _Yellowstone_ were supported by the United States. The other six ships were supported by other nations. Each ship had a crew of four and had three drones to help with maintenance.

The _Valley Forge_ had one husband and wife team and two single people. The other seven ships were all a mix. The _Glacier,_ for example, had two husband and wife teams while the _Blue Ridge_ had four single people who were all males. Fleet-wide, the woman were outnumbered almost 3 to 1. Kate was one of two single woman in the fleet. The _Berkshire_ had one married couple and two men. One of which was the Fleet Captain who, as far as Kate was concerned, was far too full of himself. He clearly thought of himself as being an Alpha Male and was used to getting what he wanted. Kate had even entertained the idea that he had taken this job with the hope of getting into her pants.

Kate was monitoring the work that B4 and B6 had finished to verify that the pressure didn't change when her communications panel began blinking madly at her. She looked at the time and saw that the _Berkshire_ was still locked out so she accepted it. "Angela, what can I help you with? Do you need to talk with someone?" She wasn't the person she was expecting.

"Captain Bell's lighting up the communications frequencies, screaming at everyone. What did you do?" _Valley Forge_ was the only ship that wasn't on the net.

"He's still trying to get into my pants so I told him that if he set foot on my ship I would shoot him, drag his dead body into the nearest airlock, and eject him out into space," Kate admitted to her since Angela was one of the few woman in this fleet that she had any respect for.

"Still? Would it hurt you to screw him at least once." He was making all of their lives miserable.

"Once for him means forever until he tires of me. You know his type as well as I do. So the answer is and will always be **no**. You're a big girl, Angela. Tell your captain to tell Bell where to stuff it," Kate said and saw her drop her head.

"We're two years into an eight year tour. It took us two years to get out here because we were in a perfect position between the two planets. It's going to take us four years to get back followed by two years in Earth orbit while we wait." She was reminding Kate of 6 more years of Bell.

"He'll adapt. …That or I'll space him. Is there anything else? I've got work to do." Kate didn't want to be brusque with her, but talking about Bell usually gave her a headache.

Angela shook her head. "I should never have accepted this job."

"Bell is the one that shouldn't have taken this job. He trapped himself out here in space on a ship. You want to feel sorry for someone? Feel sorry for Lucy and her husband." Kate killed the transmission.

"SHIT!" Angela hung her head and felt her husband come up behind her.

"You tried, babe. We both knew what the answer was going to be. Kate is the Alpha Female out here and she can choose as she pleases." He paused for a moment. "Do you really think she would shoot him and eject him out into space?" He didn't know Kate as well as his wife did.

"Yeah, she would." Angela was sure of it. "On the bright side it wouldn't mean 6 years of hell." She tried to find the silver lining.

 **\- :: -** **:::** **\- :: -**

Rick had six domes to care for and while he liked all of them, this one was his silent favorite. It was also the one that gave him the most trouble and today was no different. "Why do you hate me?" he muttered as he sat back and tried to think about this.

Everything that dealt with nature was something that Rick could handle. Making sure the stupid pump system for the pool and waterfall…not so much. He had an idea. "THE SCREEN!" He got down on his stomach and started reaching. The second he felt and removed the egg everything went back to normal. He looked out over the dome. "You're supposed to bury them, not push them into the water." He stopped holding up the egg and looked out into the dome. He didn't see them but knew they were out there, somewhere.

"I have five other domes to care for, you know." He got up and saw that his body was now partly covered in mud and not just wet. "And this is not my idea of a mud bath," Rick grumbled and began walking to his room to change.

"Aren't you taking tree hugging a little far?" Leslie teased along the way.

"Ha, ha. It may seem easy and useless to you, but I do have to know and take care of the environmental systems, the electrical systems, and the plumbing systems. It's not all about dirt and plants. B2 may have fixed your plumbing issue but who do you think guided him? …I need to change. See you at dinner," Rick said with a smile; being called a tree hugger never got him down.

Rick left Leslie standing there and feeling a little ashamed about teasing him. She knew she shouldn't. She and her husband had a job thanks to this project. In eight years they were going to be able to afford to do what they both wanted to do so very badly.

"Yeah, dinner." They would all starve without him, too. "We need to have a little talk, babe."

 **\- :: -** **:::** **\- :: -**

"My God, what _is_ that smell?" Kate walked into the kitchen with the others. Regulations only allowed the bridge to be empty for one hour during dinner.

"Have a seat guys. I know you only have an hour. Well, one of you. Let me get started." Rick began filling plates and placing them on the table in front of them.

"Are you trying to make me fat, Castle?" Kate tilted her head and glared at him.

"We have an exercise room," Rick reminded her.

"What _is_ this?" Leslie asked, breathing deeply, savoring the delicious scents. She hadn't noticed the others were doing the same since she closed her eyes at the same time.

"This is leg of lamb accompanied by roasted baby leeks with bacon and croutons, roasted garlic and clementine carrots, and for dessert we have thin lemon bars." Rick started putting his plate together to sit down with them.

"Weight room, definitely going to need to use that weight room." Kate was eating fast since it tasted so good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 2**

Kate was completely content and snuggled in Castle's arms after three more rounds of making love. "You're thinking awfully loud. You know, another guy would find that insulting. He failed to blow your mind to the point where you couldn't think at all." Rick kissed her head.

That had Kate smiling. "I was just thinking. We've been on this ship for two years and we only just started making love the other day." She didn't understand that part.

"And now you can't imagine not making love to me." Rick tried being proud of himself. "OW!" Kate had pinched him and it had actually hurt.

"Care to try again?" Kate got her fingers ready over a sensitive spot.

"You came out from behind your concrete and steel wall and found that dirt and trees aren't so bad after all." Rick had never converted anyone like Kate to seeing his way of life.

Kate flexed her fingers and sighed. "Yeah." He wasn't far wrong. She had spent a lot of her life, or so it seemed, behind the walls she had put up and not just to keep tree huggers out.

"How did you get into being a…nature lover." She didn't want to insult him and calling him a tree hugger was definitely insulting in their culture.

Rick squeezed her a little tighter for that and kissed her head. "I was five, I think. It's been a while so my memory is a little foggy on the exact date." He huffed from the gentle elbow poke she gave him. "Anyway, my parents had died in one of those collapses that happened a little too often." He'd done a lot of research of building and other collapses in history. It seemed to him that a lot of what was man-made was made to fail.

Kate shifted in place to face him. "I'm so sorry, Castle." She didn't even realize that he had grown up without parents.

"I was raised by my Uncle John in the middle of nowhere Virginia. He owned a small dairy farm." Rick said the name, "Mountain Home Farm," and watched Kate shake her head. "It was a small farm. …He was also a sheltie breeder. Emerald Shelties." Rick tried again only to see she had never heard of the name. "Regardless, I spent my first few years learning all about cows. How cows made milk, what cows should eat to make the best milk. What cows made the best milk." Rick was sure he knew more about cows than anyone on the planet. "I also learned what it took to take care of cows. Do you know how much poop a cow puts out?" Rick asked while laughing lightly. Kate laughed a little with him.

"Let me guess, it was your chore to clean it all up." Kate could almost see little Ricky knee deep in cow poop.

"Shovelful by shovelful," Rick confirmed.

"So how did you go from cows to nature?" Kate wasn't counting working on a milk farm as being nature.

"I grew up," Rick said as if it was obvious. "The news was filled with how the planet's climate was changing and not in a good way. It was still early and not everyone was scared yet. Certainly not the politicians who had control over the purse strings.

"At any rate, I had this thought about using all that cow poop and putting it to good use. Lord knows I knew all there was to know about cows. I was sure Uncle John thought I was nuts but he funded my first year at Mount Berry College in Georgia." Rick saw her eyes fly open. "You've heard of the place, I take it?" He looked at her.

"Who hasn't? That college is what got all this started. You were there for that?" Kate was impressed now.

Rick nodded. "Most people talk about Alexis during that time, but I did my part." He was proud of what he had done.

"Alexis Rodgers. She was in the news for weeks, months really. She didn't take shit from anyone. I'm still not sure how many senators she called out for doing all they could to destroy the planet just so they could make their lives easier. She forced how many senators out of office, six?" Kate tried to remember but had really lost count.

"Close, it was nine, actually, and you're forgetting the company that was implicated," he reminded her.

"So much has changed." The planet had changed almost overnight, not to mention rushing to build this many ships to try and secure a history for their planet. Kate's watch started sounding. Annoyed, she glanced at it. "Time to get ready for my shift." She rolled over and got out of his bed only to turn around, lean in, and kiss him. "I need something to remember you by while I'm working." She grinned, moved down to take his cock in her mouth, and gave it a quick tongue bath followed by kissing its tip. "See you later." Kate enjoyed that she was leaving him with a partial erection.

"You are evil, Captain Beckett." Now he was going to have to take care of himself again this morning.

"I warned you, Castle." Kate made sure she was facing the right direction each time she bent over to pick up her clothes. She looked behind her before she went out his door into the main room and saw him lying there with his fingers wrapped around his erection.

"Don't abuse that thing, Castle. I have plans for it later." Kate smiled and ran to her room so she could take a quick shower and pleasure herself. "I'm in so much trouble." She had climaxed three times again and still wanted more.

 **\- :: -** **:::** **\- :: -**

Kate put in her code. "You stand relieved."

"I stand relieved. All the B units are idle. The fleet formation is unchanged and our course is still for a swing around the rings of Saturn starting in two weeks. Our communication from base should arrive in a couple of hours. Captain Bell is demanding an inventory from everyone. He's on a warpath." He'd been yelling at every ship in the fleet all night long.

"If I remember my history, the Native Americans lost." Kate wasn't scared of him. She was still more than willing to shoot him if he set foot on her ship. "Enjoy breakfast," she said absently and began looking things over.

"Mmm, breakfast. There is a bonus to this job. Meet you in the exercise room after your shift?" Leslie asked.

"I'll be there." She was going to need to work off Castle's cooking.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"All hands report to the bridge, all hands report to the bridge." Kate sent out a call as soon as she started accepting a message and downloading what it contained.

Each person used their code and one by one, all four of them were soon in the bridge. "We've received a message from base. It includes a data file that I will breakdown and distribute to each of you. There's also an audio file to all of us." Kate pressed a button that brought it up on several screens.

"Captains Beckett and Wolf, your resupply packages should be coming up within range of your long range sensors just about now. The second resupply packages have already launched and should reach you in roughly 2 years. Another will follow 2 years later followed by your orbit insertion." He paused and seemed to compose himself. " _Glacier_ and _Blue Ridge_ have both been given their recalls. Their new governments have chosen not to support the design. They will continue to receive their resupply shipments, however, when they go into Earth orbit they will be doing so without the domes." He paused again to let them absorb that.

"Shit," Kate added softly.

" **DAMN** **IDIOTS!** "Rick was not so timid in his response. He had more to say but the director began talking again.

"They have been ordered to jettison their domes and destroy them using a nuclear device anywhere between now and before they achieve orbit." He continued to speak but Rick talked over him.

" **FUCKING HELL!** "He was ready to hit something except he was on the bridge and they kind of needed all this equipment if they wanted to live.

"Castle!" Kate needed for him to shut up.

"…has continued unabated. Based on the recall of their ship it comes as no great surprise. If it continues at this pace we estimate that the Amazon Rainforest will be down to less than 20% of its original size by the time you reach orbit.

"Zenco has continued the construction of the three oxygen generators on the west coast and three more have started construction on the east coast. They have reached an agreement with Mexico to build one, as well as one in Brazil. They are likely in talks with other nations to build more units.

"As you probably know they're power hogs and require the use of salt water to make oxygen, making building them on coast lines a natural selection.

"I…I hate to say it but it's likely that after the new president is elected and his administration is put in place come this November, don't be surprised if both of you are recalled.

"I _am_ sorry but with the loss of Alexis Rodgers, it would appear that her legacy is going to be lost. Read your mail and get ready for your supplies. Henderson out." And the screens went dark.

"So much for this job." Leslie wasn't happy and her husband wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"Castle, I'm…" Kate turned to look at him but didn't see him. The sound of a sniffle had her moving and looking down to find him sitting on the floor curled up into himself, crying softly. "Castle!" Her heart started breaking for him; she got down on the floor with him. Kate placed her hands on his. "They might change their minds, Castle. We have another 6 years left on our contracts."

Rick didn't look up and simply shook his head. "Twenty percent means we'll have crossed the line. Even if we transplanted the domes to the planet they would all die." He buried his head further into his legs. "An Earth covered over in concrete while oxygen generators suck the oceans dry to make oxygen. …Earth is dead. …Alexis is dead. …We're dead." Rick let his sobs take over.

Leslie guided her husband off the bridge and watched Kate sit down next to Castle, wrap her arms around him, and let him cry.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate had barely even seen Castle over the next two days. He was doing his job, she knew that much. However, each night when she knocked on his door he didn't respond. Now she was walking toward the bridge to start her shift and found herself needing him. She wanted to hold him, kiss him, and make love to him.

She reached out to input her code but allowed her head to rest up against the door. "GOD, I'm falling in love with him." Some how she just knew this was going to end badly. It was just that at the moment the future of them together wasn't on her mind.

Kate straightened up and input her code and walked onto her bridge. She walked past Leslie and put in her code. "You are relieved."

"I stand relieved. B2 is working on a possible electrical short and is presently behind the empty E2 storage container. Captain Bell has been an ass all night long. He's ordered everyone to do a level 3 diagnostic on their long range scanners except for us and the _Yellowstone._ We're supposed to keep our eyes on the supply shipment. B4 and B6 are idle at the moment." Leslie completed her breakdown of what happened during the night.

"Acknowledged." Kate moved to a screen to view the formation of their fleet.

Leslie wanted to talk. "So you and Castle?"

It caught Kate a little off guard. "Yeah, me and Castle," she admitted, not really seeing the screen any longer. She turned to face Leslie. "Am I an idiot? Yes, he's a tree hugger and it sounds like there aren't going to be anymore trees for him to hug. It's just…" He made her feel wanted; she felt loved.

"The sex is amazing." Leslie wasn't sure if she was guessing or not.

A smile began to creep onto Kate's face. "The sex has been mind-blowing. It only seems to get better every time we make love. I… Now he doesn't even answer the door," she moaned.

Leslie started smiling. She had heard the words, _"_ _m_ _ake_ _l_ _ove,"_ and not, _"every time we have_ _ **sex**_ _."_ She saw it as a fundamental distinction in what was going on between those two.

"Now you're losing your mind because you're so horny you can't think straight." Leslie began smiling even wider.

"I think just fine, thank you very much," Kate countered, knowing that she hadn't lost her mind…yet. "And I'm so horny that I'm going to explode soon," she admitted.

"There's always Captain Bell," Leslie teased and watched the transformation that took place at the mere mention of his name.

"I'd rather have a sex change than have sex with that asshole," Kate stated with utter disgust.

"Don't let him hear that; he just might swing both ways," Leslie smirked, her eyebrow raised.

"Go eat your breakfast before I shoot you. I have work to do." Kate turned away from Leslie and started manipulating her screen.

"Well, I for one am happy for you. Just remember, you _are_ the captain of this ship. You can order him to report to the bridge or just wait for him to deliver your breakfast. Just clean up after yourself. I don't want the bridge smelling like sex," Leslie razzed her. She slipped out the door and didn't see the daggers Kate was throwing at her.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate didn't hear the door the bridge open, though she did hear a quiet voice announce that he was leaving her breakfast behind. She turned to see Castle walking back to the door. Desperate to touch him, she ran and slipped around equipment to reach him.

Kate spun him around and slammed him up against the door then kissed him with as much pent-up passion and need that she could muster. At first he didn't kiss her back but she soon felt his hands roaming across her back as his tongue searched her mouth. She broke the kiss reluctantly and looked at him. "I'm using my captain's override on your door tonight if you don't open it, Castle. I know the news was bad but please don't shut me out." She kissed him again.

Rick let his forehead rest against hers. "I'm sorry. It's just that my mail has been filled with people wanting to know what I'm going to do next. There isn't going to be much nature left by the time we get home. It's left me–" Kate finished his sentence for him.

"Depressed. I know. Just don't shut me out because of it, please." Kate needed him and was just coming to grips with how badly she needed him.

"I promise." Rick stood up straighter and meant it.

"Good, now let me eat my breakfast before it gets cold; you need to get back to work." Kate gave him a quick kiss and let go of him then went over to see what breakfast was today.

She heard the bridge door open. "I'll be there, Kate." Meaning he would open the door tonight.

"Castle." Kate saw him turn to her just the other side of the door. "I intend to tie you to the bed tonight and have my way with you. Consider it a penalty for locking me out the last two nights." She loved the look on his face as the door closed. She was going to fuck his brains out.

Kate was halfway done with her omelet when she noticed two things. One, she was already wet from thinking about tonight. "This is going to be a long day." And two, her communication panel was blinking madly at her.

She pressed the button only to see Captain Bell on the screen. He didn't give her a moment to even think about saying or doing anything. "Stand ready for an inspection!" He was coming over whether she liked it or not.

"I warned you what would happen if you set foot on my ship," Kate threatened.

"I am captain of this fleet and I will go where I damn well choose. Just be naked and in your bed when I get there," he ordered. Kate quickly reached for the weapon that was stored on every bridge and showed it to him.

"It's loaded and every round in it has your name on it. Come if you wish, but know that you'll never make it back unless some miracle happens and your dead body finds its way to your ship." Kate punched the button, ending communication.

She wondered if the asshole really would come over and try to set foot on her ship. It also left her wondering if she really would shoot him. She knew it would be the end of her career. Though it was sounding like her career was already over. She was a ship's captain but what ship would she be captain of back home?

"Damn asshole!" Still she had no intention of even sucking on his cock let alone letting him fuck her. Besides she had a cock that belonged to her now and it was a damn fine cock, too. And she wasn't bluffing, she really was going to tie Castle to his bed somehow and listen to him beg her to let him climax.

Kate went back to her now cold omelet and smiled wickedly at the thought of what she was going to do to Castle tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 3**

Kate input her code to gain entrance to the bridge and found Leslie closing a communication. She walked over to key in her code only to have Leslie stop her. "Bell's on his way over." Leslie didn't know what to expect. She knew Kate was deeply involved with Castle and what she thought of Bell. "Kate," Leslie began only to watch her take the weapon on the bridge out of its place and see her leave the bridge. "SHIT!" Leslie couldn't leave the bridge. She hadn't been officially relieved so had no alternative but to stay. She initially thought about calling for Castle but instead she called someone else.

"Spearman, call him back," Leslie begged. "Kate really will shoot him the second that door opens."

"He's my captain and he's the captain of this fleet. She really has no choice," he replied stubbornly.

"You're an idiot. You know this is wrong and since all of this is recorded, it isn't going to end well for you." Leslie killed the transmission and quickly made another call. "Babe, Bell's headed this way. Kate has a weapon and is going to meet him at the airlock. Try and talk her out of it." Leslie ended the transmission not waiting for a response from her husband.

Kate was ready and waiting. She'd moved one of the empty cargo containers over to where she could have cover and still see the airlock. She watched as the lights cycled from red to green and the second the door started to open, she fired three rounds that all hit the door and ricocheted, going she didn't know where.

"DAMN IT, BITCH, STAND DOWN!" Bell bellowed at Kate.

"You were warned that I wouldn't be your sex toy, so go back to your ship and fuck your blow up doll. I still have twelve rounds with your name written on them," Kate yelled back, firing another round to reinforce her point.

"I am the Fleet Captain and I can go where I wish. Now stand down. Don't force me to take your ship from you by force," Bell ranted.

"You and what army? You're all alone in that pod, Bell, and we both know it. You've let your position go to your head. You're drunk with power and if you step one foot through that airlock, I'll blow it off." Kate fired another round.

Leslie saw Castle come charging into the bridge. "Castle, what are you doing?" She watched him go over to the control panel for the B units.

"Saving both of their lives, I hope." Castle started typing in orders and got a group of whistles and beeps back from B6.

"What are you doing?" Leslie walked over to where Castle was standing.

"Forcing Bell to leave. Maybe after a couple of scares he'll change his mind and put his dick back in his pants," Castle answered, anxiously watching B6's progress.

"You know?" How did he know?

"Kate told me. If she really does shoot him, she might kill him and that'll be the end for her. Right now Bell's in the wrong. She might not be a captain any longer but at least she won't be in prison." Rick kept watching.

Kate saw a gun poke around the side of the airlock door and she ducked behind her container while Bell fired six rounds at anything and everything. "You really are an idiot, Bell. If you hit something vulnerable, you'll kill us all." She took a peek.

"I have an escape pod, I'll be fine," Bell yelled. "And you're officially under arrest for refusing a direct order of your Fleet Captain. I have the law on my side here, Beckett."

"Your position doesn't give you the right to order me to spread my legs for you. Go back to your ship and play with your blow up doll," Kate hollered. She saw the door move so she fired yet another round.

" **BITCH!** "Bell screeched. "You might actually… WHAT THE HELL!" Bell started hearing alarms going off in his pod, forcing him to leave the doorway to find out what the hell was going on.

Kate took the risk and rushed the door. She rammed her palm against the button and watched the door slam shut. Then she overrode the controls and locked the door, preventing Bell from opening it again.

Rick was beginning to smile as he read what the beeps and whistles were telling him. "Captain Bell is leaving. I hope he brought a suit or he'll never make it." Rick moved over to the radar station with Leslie right behind him and they both watch the pod make its way back to the _Berkshire._

"What did you do?" Leslie inquired while watching the pod make its way back to his ship.

"I ordered B6 to start cutting one of his thrusters off his pod," Rick explained with a grin.

Leslie went back to watching the radar display. "That explains his erratic maneuvers." She laughed lightly. "Now what are you doing?" She watched him leave the radar station and move over to the communications station.

"Sending a copy of all of this to a lawyer I know back home. If they don't want this to get out, they'll explain the facts of life to Bell before Kate really does kill him…and spend the rest of her life in prison." Rick finished and pressed SEND. He was betting that Bell had skeletons in his closet.

Leslie just stood there and replayed everything in her mind. "You really do care about her, don't you?" Leslie had started to question whether it was just all about sex.

Rick looked at her. "I… Kate's special. She's the only person who calls me a tree hugger but makes it sound like, _'_ _I love you._ _'_ I've lost enough already; I'm not losing her too simply because she's stubborn.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go give Kate a piece of my mind before sending her here so she can start her shift." Rick headed for the door. "I might even put a little cayenne pepper in her breakfast." He grinned before closing the door.

Leslie standing there laughing. "He's perfect for you, Kate. Just don't screw it up." She went back over to the radar station to see if anyone or anything was moving.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate walked into the bridge, put the weapon away, and went to input her code. "You're relieved," she stated as always. Except she saw Leslie spinning her hand, asking Kate to twirl around for her. Kate was perplexed at what this was about especially because she was sure Leslie was going to give her a piece of her mind. She finished her spin and stood there staring at Leslie.

"Just checking to see how much ass you still have after Castle got his hands on you," Leslie explained and for a first, she thought she saw Kate beginning to blush.

"Castle… Castle was was pretty pissed," Kate admitted and could still feel her ears ringing a little. "But Bell fucks me over my dead body," she firmly stated yet again.

"Ooo, not a picture I needed. Anyway, B6 is back in his space. Bell's pod has docked with the _Berkshire,_ the fleet formation is unchanged. We're still on course and may need to adjust a little if the rings are thicker than our radar presently shows them to be. The first supply pod has shown up on radar and will arrive in three days. Likely all the others are behind it and will show up on radar probably later today." Leslie started for the door.

"I stand relieved. And for the record I'm glad you didn't shoot him. I can't imagine how much paperwork your shooting him would cause us. Enjoy your breakfast." Leslie hid her smile over what Castle might feed her.

Leslie passed Castle in the hall on the way to the kitchen. "Yours is in the kitchen with Paul." Leslie stopped him and took a peek at what he was taking to Kate. "A breakfast burrito and a glass of milk to kill the pain," he explained and began walking to the bridge.

Rick keyed in his code. "Breakfast," Rick announced and placed it where he always did.

Kate ignored her breakfast, went straight to him, and wrapped her arms around him. "Still mad?" she asked him softly.

"Mad isn't the word I would use. Eat your breakfast; I have work to do." Rick escaped her arms and headed for the door leaving a hurt Kate in his wake. "I did enjoy last night, though." He reached for the button.

"Castle, wait." Kate had made up her mind and she needed to ask him while she still had the courage. "I… Would you… I'd like for you to move in with me. Gather up all of your clothes and your personal items and move them into my room. I'll share the code with you." Kate stood there, twisting her hands nervously, waiting.

There was only silence. She knew what she was asking and thought that they were ready, or at least she was. "Castle?" He still hadn't said anything. The next thing she knew she was being kissed and it had her melting into him since this was just the kind of answer she was hoping for. "Is that a yes?" Kate asked while still with her arms around him.

"We can start tonight after dinner. I'll make ice cream to celebrate." Rick kissed her again and released her to leave the bridge.

Kate stood there and willed for the words to escape her lips but she couldn't get them out. In the end she watched him leave without saying anything. "I'm falling in love with you, Castle." She got the words out after he was gone.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate opened her door to find Castle standing there with an arm full of clothes. She smiled and stepped aside so he could enter. She followed him into her bedroom and watched him throw his armload onto her bed.

"What did you put in my breakfast, Castle." Her mouth still tingled a little even now.

Rick picked up a few clothes and moved to her closet. "I ground up a hot pepper and added it to your burrito." He hung up his clothes and turned to find Kate standing in front of him, looking rather unhappy.

"Don't ever do that again," she said flatly.

"Then don't try and kill someone that will take you away from me and place you in prison for the rest of your life. I don't happen to like the thought of living in hell." Rick answered and stared at her. The next thing he knew, he was being kissed while Kate worked at getting him out of his clothes.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate was happy again. Castle was proving to be the best lover she had ever had. "You haven't asked me," she pointed out while curled up naked next to him.

Rick looked down at her then back at the ceiling since he was on his back. "I never really thought about getting married while out in space," he answered in a deadpan voice.

"Not that, silly. I mean you haven't asked if I would've killed him." She meant Captain Bell. Then Kate raised up to look at him. "You seriously thought… You would marry me?" How did they get to this topic so fast and why wasn't she freaking out?

"I haven't asked you yet," Rick reminded her. "Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" He rattled off some deal breakers. "Do you have a secret that you haven't told me? Are you actually a wanted serial killer? You've murdered all of your other husbands to get their money?"

"NO!" Kate stared at him for a moment then snuggled back into her place. She'd found a keeper.

"Can I kill him if he comes back over?" Rick teased.

"No. To be honest I don't know if I would've actually killed him. I just wanted to scare him away." Kate didn't see herself as a cold-blooded killer.

"I have a confession to make." Rick needed to tell her what he'd done.

"You're the one that's a wanted serial killer," Kate said which earned her a slight pinch. "Ow!" She swatted him in return.

"I gathered up everything that Captain Bell's been doing since being out here and sent it to a lawyer I know. He's probably already ripping open his past to present a case to the agency. The longer you can keep him off this ship the more time my friend has to help you."

That had Kate sitting up on her knees to look at him in awe. "You…" She couldn't believe it. She'd spent most of her life doing things for herself. She'd never really have someone like him around her.

Kate leaned down to kiss him but the kiss was interrupted by a call on the communications system. "Sorry to interrupt, Captain, but all of our supply pods are now on radar. Ours is off course by more than a little," Paul reported.

She moaned and reached past Rick so much so that one of her breasts was right over his mouth and just as she tapped the button to respond, her nipple was in his mouth being suckled.

"I'll…be right…there." Kate slammed her hand on the button to silence it. She loved the feeling and stayed right where she was. "That was evil, Castle."

Rick opened his mouth and released her nipple. "I could have done this." Kate suddenly felt a finger slide into her opening.

"SHIT!" She sucked in a breath, desperately wishing she didn't need to run to the bridge.

"Actually that's here." Rick took his wet finger out of her and plunged it into her ass.

"GOD, CASTLE!" Kate couldn't go to the bridge like this. So she climbed up his body and felt his finger pull out of her ass. She ended up with her core over his face. "Eat me, Castle, make me come."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate was smiling widely since she had underestimated just what Castle was capable of. She would have been satisfied with just one more orgasm after the three that she'd already had and they hadn't even finished moving all of his stuff yet. Instead, she was putting in her code to enter the bridge after _three_ more orgasms.

Kate watched the door open. "Six in one day." It was a new record. She idly wondered what else they could do together.

"Show me," she requested after entering, putting on her captain's hat.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

For the next hour the two of them plotted out a course that would take them closer to Saturn and on the underside of the rings while the rest of the fleet would be on the other side.

"Begin making the course adjustments; we need to save as much fuel as we can." She hated the idea of using up any fuel at all. But the supply pod, while being handled by remote control by them once it was closer, had even less maneuvering capabilities than they did and they were going to use most of it up getting it to dock with them.

"We should be lined up in a few hours. Make sure Leslie's onboard with this," Kate told Paul as she left the bridge, headed back to her room, and Castle's arms.

He was still naked and sound asleep in her bed. At least he was on his side. "His side." Kate placed both hands over her mouth and felt herself falling in love with him just a little more. She knelt down to look at his face. He looked so peaceful. Her gaze went to his shoulders and down his back, landing on his very fine ass.

"Are you staring at my ass?" Rick's sleep-roughened voice had her eyes off his ass and onto his face. His eyes were still closed so it left her wondering if he could read minds. "What happened? Was it Bell again?" He knew some poisons he could put together to make his life miserable for a few days.

"No, our supply pod is a little off course. It required us to leave formation to intercept it. It'll be fine, we'll catch up to it." Kate was sure of it, plus they didn't have a choice. If they missed it they would all die.

"We better; my freezers are getting empty." Rick opened his eyes to see hers staring back at him. "You're still wearing clothes," he pointed out like that was a no-no.

"You want me naked, do you?" Kate smiled lazily and leaned in to give him a quick kiss.

"Every second we're alone," Rick answered and nuzzled her neck.

"I think I can live with that." Kate stood up to start stripping and didn't miss that Rick's eyes were on her. "You're going to have to help tomorrow. We have a lot to unload and get put away. Your domes are going to just have to wait." She shimmied her hips and let what was left fall to the floor.

She watched him roll over onto his back. "Now where were we when we were rudely interrupted?" Kate was more than ready for more.

"You were crawling up my body to sit on my face so I could taste you," Rick reminded her since that was where she'd been earlier before being called away.

"Good memory." Kate started crawling up his body only to stop when she reached his cock long enough to give it a few licks and take his mostly flaccid cock down her throat. Then she kept crawling up his body until she could kiss him. "Don't move, Castle." Kate smiled and began spinning herself so that his cock was right in front of her and her core was just over his lips.

Kate felt him moving and was all set to ask what he was doing when she felt his tongue licking her outer lips. She smiled as she took his cock in her mouth and started to give it a bath.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate's eyes snapped open and all she saw was a lot of red followed by the sound of a klaxon blaring in her ears.

"What's going on?" Rick's sleepy voice murmured as he opened his eyes to look around.

"It's a shipwide alert. We have to get to the bridge." Kate untangled herself from Castle and got out of bed. "Come on, move it, Castle!" Kate ran to her door and opened it.

"But we're naked," Rick finished softly as he watched Kate's naked ass run out the door. "They used to call this something way back when." He just couldn't get it out of his still foggy brain as he ran after her.

"REPORT!" Kate yelled after keying in her code to get on the bridge.

"Meteor storm. It'll reach the _Sequoia_ which is on the far outside of the formation in…3 minutes. It's a big one. Estimate is over 200 thousand and it will last for roughly 9 hours," Leslie announced and moved over to another station.

"Move B6 aft; he can handle anything that hits our engineering section on the outside. Place B4 amidships and send B2 forward and leave him inside. Where's Paul?" Kate moved over to the radar section just as Rick entered the bridge.

"He's in engineering." He was where he should be, doing his job, though Leslie didn't take offense.

"Here it comes!" Kate announced and suddenly alarms shrilled. She moved over to another screen. "We've been hit, Dome 2."

"I'm on it." Rick ran off the bridge, still naked.

"Another one in Dome 5," Kate yelled to his back just before the door closed.

"I'll take it," Leslie offered.

Kate stopped her in her tracks. "Stay; let Castle handle the domes."

"We've been hit in cargo bay 3," Kate announced as Leslie began moving. "And bay 4 and bay 5. We're being pounded." She didn't stop Leslie this time.

Kate hit the button that would send her voice over the communications in engineering. "They're headed your way, Paul; get ready," she warned.

"B4, the kitchen has taken a hit, seal it. Bloody hell!" Kate couldn't believe it. "B6, we have four in engineering, I need you to take the one in sector D4." Kate was watching as the red lights kept mounting. "Castle, there's a second in Dome 2."

Then suddenly Kate was slammed to the floor. "What the hell was that!?" She got up and saw a huge red area blinking. She knew the emergency bulkheads would seal that area.

"Leslie, where are you?" Kate waited. "Damn it, Leslie, where are you?" Kate watched as cargo bay 4 showed as missing in its entirety. "OH, GOD! Please tell me you were wearing your mask!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 4**

Rick was barely still walking as he punched in the code to gain entrance to the bridge. He was a mess and beyond tired. The only reason he was there was to find out how Kate was doing and to find out what had happened. She'd stopped sending him places to patch holes.

He stepped inside and didn't really recognize the place. Alarms continued to shrill and lights were seemingly blinking all over the place. He found Kate staring at one of her screens that was filled with blinking red lights.

"What happened?" Rick stepped up behind her and she turned to him. Tears streamed down her face and he could tell that her heart was filled with pain. He reached out to wipe some of them away. "What happened?" This time he asked it far more softly.

"They're gone." Kate was ready to really start crying.

Rick pulled her into him and even though they were on her bridge she came willingly and let him hold her. "Who's gone?" Did she mean people or did she mean something else?

"Leslie and Paul, they're gone." She was convinced she knew where Leslie was when she stopped responding and she knew where Paul was when he said goodbye.

Rick simply held her tighter. "What happened?" This time he was looking for information and understanding.

"Leslie was patching a hole in cargo bay 4 when suddenly the bay was gone," she explained, her voice breaking.

"SHIT! Do you know for sure she's gone or that the bay is gone?" There could be other reasons. He felt her nod. Rick absorbed the information and felt bad but he needed to know what he didn't know. "And Paul?"

"He…he sacrificed himself in the engineering bay to keep the power on." Kate felt her knees start to collapse but Castle held her up.

"Oh god, Kate!" Rick guided her to one of the few seats that were in this room and helped her sit.

He didn't know the bridge well but he knew where most everything was so he went over to the screen that would show their damage. There was a large area that was in red and a number of other spaces that were still blinking red as well. After pressing a few of the blinking areas he decided that none of them were emergencies but still need to be worked on.

The large red area was delineated as storage bay 4. He saw a power problem for one of the domes and was all set to ask B2 to investigate when he noticed that all three droids were in their recharging bays. They were done for a few hours until they had time to recharge.

He continued to look and saw a larger red area that was blinking so he touched it. It read as being a problem with their long-range communications.

He knew Kate – trusted her and had faith in her – so he left that screen and moved over to the radar screen. They were on the underside of the rings so they were blind to what was on the other side. He did see all of the resupply pods, one of which was a little off course, and was guessing that one was theirs.

"What about everyone else. How bad off are they?" There were 7 other ships out there besides theirs.

"None of them are answering my calls," Kate answered and Rick glanced at her; she was wiping her tears and was on her feet again. He knew that look: Captain Beckett was back in charge. "They're all on the other side of the rings which our radar can't penetrate so we have to wait until after we recover our supply pod." It was going to take time to come out from under the rings.

Kate moved over to the communication station and knew that communicating with Earth was gone. But the other ships weren't that far so she opened up another channel. "All ships, this is _Valley Forge,_ please respond." She waited again, having already done this a few times. "This is _Valley Forge_ to all ships, please respond." Kate waited and started pressing buttons. "It's functioning perfectly, they just aren't responding." She was ready to hit the screen in frustration.

"Where did the storm come from? Who saw it first?" Rick inquired.

" _Glacier,_ they were…" Her brows drew together as she tilted her head and really looked at him. "You're wearing clothes." He had on a pair of his work coveralls and a pair of shoes.

"Work clothes. I found them in a dome. I'll get you something." Rick turned to leave to get her something to wear since she was still naked.

"No, I'm fine," she insisted. "I do need to pee, though. Watch everything for me, would you?" Kate headed for the tiny toilet space just off of the bridge.

Rick looked around again and saw blinking red lights everywhere.

Thankfully Kate made it fast and still unclothed, walked back over to the damage screen.

"I'm dead tired but what needs to be worked on next?" Rick asked.

"The B units can handle most of this after they recharge. What I don't know about is how to get back into the engineering bay. It's filled with radiation, though the power output is steady." She didn't have a clue about what to do about that.

"Communications?" Rick asked and she motioned him over. She brought up a picture that one of the B units had obviously taken since it was outside the ship. "Is that our dish?" It looked like Swiss cheese and parts were hanging all over the place.

"What's left of it," Kate confirmed.

"Do we have the parts to replace it?" he asked.

"I think so but it's going to take me hours of space walking to do it." Kate was more hopeful than certain.

Rick walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "I know you're presently Captain Beckett and are on her bridge, but talk to me, Kate." What little he had just learned had been dramatic and she had lived it.

She let herself lean back into him. "We're in trouble."

"Nothing Captain Beckett and her tree hugger boyfriend can't conquer," he asserted.

She twisted around in his arms. "So you're my boyfriend now?" Kate teased since she was more than happy to think of him like that.

"You already have a boyfriend?" Rick teased back. It earned him a swat to his chest. Then his smile faded. "We'll be fine, Kate. We just have to work a little harder is all. …And have a funeral. We need to honor both of them. They were good shipmates." He'd liked them because they didn't talk down to him.

"Yeah, they were." She sighed and wiped away a tear. "Maybe after we clear out some of these blinking red lights." There was just so much that needed repaired.

"I'm going to go take a shower before I drop and then get some sleep. Don't stay here too long. I wouldn't want you catching a cold. Captain Kate Beckett running around her bridge buck naked." Rick couldn't resist one last tease.

Kate looked down at herself and hadn't really remembered or noticed that she was still naked. Though she did notice that she was still in his arms. "You should go, I have work to do before I can stop and rest." Except she didn't let go of him.

"You may have to come hit me to wake me if you need me. I'm going to sleep like the…" Somewhat abashed at his slip up, Rick dropped his gaze and didn't finish that sentence. "Or I could stay and take you on that panel over there." He nodded at it and smiled slightly at her.

His offer actually had Kate thinking about it. "Go get some sleep, we have a lot do tomorrow," she decided instead. All of the holes had only been patched. Now they had to fix all of them.

"Your loss." Rick gave her a quick kiss and left her to her work. "Remember to get some sleep."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate shuffled wearily down the hall to her room, opened the door, and headed for the shower first. Along the way she saw Castle spread out on the bed, face down, and still naked. Her eyes landed on his backside. "He does have a nice ass," she mused. Then she went into the shower to get clean. After finishing, she was presented with a new problem. He was on the bed all right, but he was also lying at an angle, taking up the whole bed.

"You could have at least picked a side, Castle," she grumbled. Any side at this point would have worked and he wouldn't have taken up the whole bed. She got on the bed and worked at getting him to move enough that she had space.

But so much had happened and she couldn't sleep; her mind simply refused to shutdown. Their ship still had a lot of holes in it. Yes, those same holes had patches but that was all they were: band-aids that needed permanent fixes. They had no long-range communications and she didn't know if they ever would.

Then there was the silence from the rest of the fleet. They were within range of them so they should be getting something. Kate had run diagnostics over and over again and got the same result each time: it was in perfect working order.

Of course, there was the loss of crew. Four for each ship was already stretching things. Having only the two of them was going to make their lives almost impossible. How were they going to run a ship this big with just two people? For a minimum of FOUR YEARS!

Kate suddenly found herself being enveloped by Rick's arms and she went willingly. "Are you awake?" she questioned; if she couldn't sleep she wanted to talk.

"No," Rick answered, pressing his face into her neck.

"I can't sleep." She'd never been this tired in her life.

"You should try running all around this ship patching holes, you'll sleep. But I may have a solution for your insomnia," Rick offered.

"Oh and what would that be?" Kate was still smiling when Rick lifted up to kiss her. She was still smiling as he kissed his way down her body, only delaying a little at each breast. By the time he had reached her core, she was wet.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

 **This section is rated** _ **M**_ **for a reason. Reader discretion is strongly advised!**

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Rick pressed her legs apart just enough for him to see. Kate, he'd learned, liked to keep herself hairless except for the hair on her head. Her pussy was no exception. At first he hadn't much liked it this way. Her pussy looked too much like when she was really little, before pubic hair was starting to grow and become a potential problem. However, he was learning to adjust.

Right now it meant her lips were visible and easier to access. With his eyes still wide open he began licking her outer lips, listening to Kate moan from the pleasure. She was already wet and getting wetter and he had long since come to love her taste. It was one of the reasons he loved eating her pussy. That and listening to her moan and cry out when she climaxed. He was happy that he could do that for her.

Rick pressed a finger inside her and listened to her reaction. He added a second finger and started pumping them in and out while still licking her outer and inner lips.

"OH GOD, CASTLE!" Kate clutched the sheets with both hands and lifted her ass off the bed in an effort to get closer to his tongue. She felt his fingers doing something else instead of pumping in and out of her which she loved. His fingers, his cock, she loved the feeling of being fucked. But this was different. Then she felt something else.

"CRAP! Castle I need to pee." Of all the times for her bladder to make itself known, it just had to be now. But Castle wasn't listening and just kept doing what he was doing. While she did love having his tongue doing what it was doing, she needed to pee.

And then suddenly the need to pee was gone and instead she felt an orgasm building up. "OH GOD! OH GOD! CASTLE! I'm going to COME!" Kate felt her orgasm ripple through what felt like her entire body. She'd had several orgasms in her life, even more so since making love with Castle. But this was different.

She also noticed that Castle didn't stop. His fingers didn't stop and his tongue didn't stop.

"CASTLE! OH GOD! CASTLE! I'M GOING TO COME AGAIN!" Kate felt the waves of yet another orgasm ripple through her entire body once again. Both times had been tremendous. They had been so close together and so much stronger than normal, they had her gasping for breath.

He still didn't stop, though. Now Kate was scrambling to get away from his fingers and tongue and yet also trying to get even closer. She raised her head and saw his face buried in her pussy; she grabbed his hair to hold him in place as she bucked her body over what felt like the entire bed.

Kate arched her body up as high as she could in an effort to get his tongue even closer. He was avoiding her clit and she wanted him to lick it so very badly. "CASTLE!" Kate screamed out his name as yet another orgasm surged through her body.

She let her body fall back to the bed as the last of her orgasm crested. Then much to her delight Castle was licking her clit. He had licked it several times before, but some how this felt so much better than those other times.

"YES! GOD, CASTLE! EAT ME!" She wanted another orgasm and she wanted it now. Kate reached out to hold his head and actually tried to press it against her pussy. In moments she was screaming from the orgasm that having him lick her clit gave her. Then he left her clit and she ached for his tongue to keep licking it. "Castle, don't stop!"

He just licked her lips, inserted two fingers, and found that spot again. "OH, GOD! OH, GOD! CASTLE!" She felt his tongue and she felt his fingers. White-knuckled, she clenched the sheets hard in her fists, lifted her ass off the bed, and felt another of those whole body orgasms roll through her body.

Rick didn't stop and she was now thrashing all over the bed as yet another orgasm ripped through her.

She couldn't even begin to think and had actually started to cry from all the pleasure he was giving her. Then she felt him licking her clit yet again. All she could do was moan and scream as still another orgasm hit her. Followed a few moments later by another as he kept licking her clit.

She felt his fingers back inside her and another orgasm built up. She could do nothing but allow her body to orgasm since her mind had long since left her. She couldn't think to get him to stop or if she even wanted him to.

Her body went through orgasm after orgasm as she thrashed all over the bed; she screamed at each one. She didn't even know when Castle finally stopped and let her collapse and fall asleep.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

 **The** _ **M**_ **Rated section is now over.**

 **You may continue reading if you have scrolled down to this point.**

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate slowly opened her eyes and all she saw was skin. Little by little her mind woke up and started remembering what had happened last night. She began to smile as she reached out to kiss the skin that was in front of her.

She got in her kiss but it also caused a little pain. Then her naked lover stretched and soon he was looking into her eyes. "Morning." Rick had a broad smile on his face.

"Morning." Kate smiled, too, and moved over to press herself up against all of him. She wanted to feel him across all of her skin that she could. However, moving caused her to groan.

"How do you feel?" Rick had never actually done what he had done last night to any woman. He'd read about it somewhere and had decided he would try it. He was still amazed at just how many orgasms he had managed to give her last night.

"Sore. Joints ache. Muscles I didn't even know I had hurt. What did you do last night?" Kate knew what he had done, she just meant, what had he done?

"You said you couldn't get to sleep so I gave you a reason to sleep. It seems to have worked." Rick shifted to see what time it was and wasn't surprised to find that it was late morning.

"Thank you for that." Kate gave him a quick kiss. "But what did you do?" No man had ever even come close to doing what Castle had done last night. She wasn't even sure just what he had done.

"Gave you orgasms," Rick murmured, not sure if she was happy or mad at him.

"I think I remember that part…barely. Just how many did I have?" Kate didn't have a clue, not exactly. She seemed to remember making it to six which was her newest record and that was thanks to Castle.

"I'm not entirely sure." Rick had stopped counting after a while. "But I think at least twenty, maybe twenty-two or three, or four. Maybe five." He scrunched up his face, unsure what Kate would think of that.

Her eyes opened wide. "TWENTY-FIVE!?" Was that even possible? No woman could have that many orgasms. …Could she?

"I, ah, kind of stopped counting, but I think so. Should I not do that again?" Rick wanted her to be happy and he was falling deeper and deeper in love with her so her answer was important.

"No… I mean, yes. Yes, I want you to make love to me. I don't ever want you to stop making love to me. Maybe just not 25 every time." She mulled it over.

"Twenty-five." Kate tried to think just how many that really was. Having six had been mind-blowing. Maybe twenty-five had been even more mind-blowing, literally.

"Perhaps sex in the shower?" Rick suggested, since the only person to have an orgasm last night had been Kate, after all.

Kate began to smile again. "If my aching body can even make it to the shower." Her smile had gotten wide. However, she was starting to feel something else. "I think we need clean sheets, too." These didn't feel all that soft any longer. They felt a little crusty and kind of damp, actually.

"Sex in the shower, followed by breakfast. Then doing laundry and putting the ship back together." Rick was smiling widely, too.

"Sounds like a plan." Kate liked it and moved to kiss him deeply. "OW!" Her muscles quickly let her know they didn't appreciate that move. Still it didn't stop her from kissing him and it certainly wasn't going to stop her from wrapping her legs around him while he fucked her standing up in the shower with her back against the wall.


	5. Chapter 5

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 5**

It had been three days. Three days of constantly fixing things. Patches were little more than band-aids and needed to be replaced. They needed a permanent fix.

Right now Rick was standing at one of the air locks listening to Kate. "Slowing down, slowing. …Talk to me." She was doing the piloting for the supply pod and everything was looking good to her.

"You're perfect, maybe a little slower," Rick answered and watched as the red lights all turned green just after feeling the pod hit the side of their ship. The second he saw all three green lights, he reached over and used the manual clamp to hold it in place. Then he started running. He didn't have far to go since it was just down the main hallway on the other side of the ship; he stopped at that airlock.

Kate had spent the last three days getting two of the pods to come their way little by little. They had three airlocks and she wanted to fill all three of them.

"Slowing down, slowly." Kate watched her screen as she used her stick to manually move the pod. "Talk to me?" She wanted to hear what he saw.

"Too far to my left or your right. …That's it, just a little more. Okay, hold it there. A little slower, please." Rick watched as she eased it in. It hit their ship; he saw three green lights, pulled his manual locking lever, and saw a green light.

He began running to the far end of the ship. He ran past the doors that used to lead to cargo bay 4. He'd spent some of the last three days welding the doors closed and disconnecting the electricity that would open the doors.

Now he didn't have time to reflect on those doors and what they meant. He slid to a stop at the last airlock and looked outside. "Way too far to my left, your right," Rick called out and watched it fire its thrusters to maneuver into position. "Too high and slow down."

Rick felt it hit their ship and saw three green lights so he pulled his manual lever, locked it into place, and saw a very welcome green light. "That's all three. Headed to you now." He started on his long walk since he was next to another door that had been locked. This one had only had a couple of spot welds added to it. It led to the engineering bay that was flooded with radiation. It was a space that they needed an answer for but so far had been far too busy to talk about it.

He walked up to her where she was standing at the radar. "That's three. Any changes?"

Kate shook her head. "Nothing but bits and pieces and in a few hours I won't even be able to tell the difference between ship parts and supply pods," she told him as they watched a piece of a ship crash into the rings.

"Seven ships." Rick began shaking his head. It was just too much to think about.

"It was over 200,000 pieces and lasted for just over 9 hours," Kate reminded him. "As bad as we got it, I'm thinking that the rings actually protected us. I'm reasonably certain that most of what hit us came from the rings," she shared with him after she'd had a chance to review the records.

"So you mean a meteor hit the rings, likely exploded into tiny pieces but sent a piece of the ring to hit us?" Rick tried to picture it and thought of it as a cue ball breaking the balls on a billiard table. "Okay, I can see that, but what took out cargo bay 4?" That part of their ship didn't have a hole. It was mostly missing.

Kate shrugged. "I don't know for sure but I'm guessing a piece of the ring. One big piece or something that made it through the rings mostly intact. Whatever it was, it was a big one."

"No kidding. Based on the picture B6 took of the space from the outside, I'm amazed that the bays on either side weren't affected. I'm thinking it would be best if we cut away all those jagged areas. I don't like the idea of losing another cargo bay." They only had just so many.

"I've already got B4 and B6 doing just that. They should be done before needing to be recharged," she replied.

Rick was quiet for a time. "Do we risk using a pod to search?" He didn't know what they would be searching for, but if they didn't look they wouldn't know.

"There are a lot of pieces out there. Far more than what's showing up on our radar. If any of those tiny pieces are moving fast enough, you'll be holed before you even know it and just as dead. That's something I'd really prefer not happen." Kate couldn't afford to lose him for a lot of reasons.

That earned her a kiss to her head. "So what's our next big problem?" Kate had listed a lot of them and he'd simply been doing what he was told to do.

She walked over to another screen and brought up a picture that B6 had taken. "We've lost three maneuvering jets, all on the aft of the ship. Another three are out of position and possibly damaged since I'm getting error codes."

"And if we can't fix them?" Rick wanted to hear options.

"Well, I can use the others to try and compensate." Then Kate gave him the bad news. "It's just that it's going to be between hard and impossible. For the most part we're stuck going straight."

"Straight. You mean like straight out into space? Can't we use the main engines to make a burn and change course? Go back to Earth. _And not die in the middle of space,"_ but he didn't say that last part aloud.

Kate dropped the rest of the bad news. "The main engines are meant to provide speed. Speed we need to slingshot around Saturn and if we were going to do that, we would have already done it. What we need are the maneuvering jets. Without those we can't get pointed in the right direction. Gravity helps but it's not enough. It would simply mean we go out into space still, just a different part of space."

Rick made it uncomplicated so he could be sure that he got it. "So we're headed out into space with no chance of going home."

"For now, yes. We need to get those maneuvering jets replaced and fixed." She moved over to another screen. "We're already past Jupiter, as you know. Uranus is next but it's out of position." Kate was interrupted by Rick.

"Leave my ass out of this." That earned him a swat.

"If – and this is going to be a big if – _**if**_ we can do it, we might be able to use Neptune as a slingshot." Kate used her finger to show the route that she hadn't had time to plot yet.

"I hear a _but_ coming." Rick just knew that was a problem with this plan.

"It took us two years to get out to Saturn. Thanks to Earth's location after that planned slingshot it was going to take almost four years to get back. This will take us another year to reach Neptune and with Earth's location at the time, another 5, almost 6 years to reach home." She turned to look at him.

"We have maybe 6 months of supplies left and just gained 6 years of supplies if we can keep all of it for that long. BUT they can send us supplies." For a moment Rick thought they were out of trouble. Then Kate continued, "Except we have no long range communications to tell them what we need. What if they don't send what we need if they even remember us." Rick slumped. It felt like it was bad news upon even worse news.

"So what's first? Thrusters, satellite dish, or something else?" he inquired.

"It's too late for Saturn so thrusters aren't a priority." She made a choice. "If we can unload one of those supply pods we can get another one to attach, if it isn't too late." She looked at Rick since he was going to be doing most, if not all of the work.

"Supply pod it is, then." Rick was in; he started to leave the bridge only to turn back. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly. "Just in case." He began to leave only to have Kate stop him.

"Don't even think like that, babe. …I love you." Kate actually got the words she'd been telling herself for days, if not weeks to come out.

Rick smiled joyfully and wrapped his arms around her again. "For the record," he said to the ceiling then looked at Kate again. "I love you, too. I have for a long time. You're still the most amazing and beautiful and sexy woman I've ever encountered." Rick kissed her.

"More than Alexis?" Kate questioned.

He made a face. "Oh, gross! I thought you knew Alexis was my sister? Well, half-sister on my father's side."

"Alexis Rodgers was your sister?"

"I changed my last name after Alexis was killed. I was sure I was next so I tried to hide for a few years. It wasn't until mother finally got everyone to see Alexis's vision that I came out of hiding, so to speak. Except I wanted to be a part of it on my own merit, not because I was her brother."

"I'm really sorry." Kate pressed herself into him. She remembered Alexis and her dream. A dream that had gotten her out here mostly because they built the ships and needed captains.

"Supply pod; we're losing time." Time she didn't even know if they had. "You unload and I'll start searching for other supply pods." She reached up to kiss him quickly "Don't hurt yourself, babe, I love you." Kate found it a lot easier to say it again than it had been the first time.

"Ice cream to celebrate that you love me?" Rick waggled his eyebrows a couple of times. "Ooo, pie with whip cream. I could spray some whip cream on your pussy and eat you." He grinned at her.

"Go unload the pod, you goof." Kate pushed him away. "And bring the whip cream to our room tonight," she almost purred. She was more than willing to let him eat her pussy again.

Rick practically skipped his way off the bridge in anticipation of tonight.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick had gone through a couple of days of training in their use but he had never used them since then, so here he was climbing into this suit that was supposed to help him pick up heavy loads.

He was clumsy at first and came close to dropping a load more than once. He had to remember that he could open the cargo bay doors using his suit and not have to get out of it to open them. He was finally making good time when Kate asked him a question. "What? Repeat that, please." He'd missed all of it.

"I need to know how you're doing and which pod you chose first. I've found another one and have it headed our way. It might be the last one, though." Kate wasn't sure but based on the debris pattern, she was betting that some of that debris was from what had been inside the other pods.

"I'm at L4 and have…" he looked inside the pod and decided he could do it, "two more trips, so about 30 to 45 minutes."

She huffed a relieved breath. Finally something was going their way. "Excellent. When you're done, close and lock the door, use the manual lock to release the pod, and tell me when that's done. I don't want that empty pod hitting the full one."

"Got it." Rick started walking toward one of the cargo bays with his load. The markings on the outside told him what was inside, indicating which storage bay to put it in.

Rick had to climb out of his power suit to close the door and lock it in place followed by using the manual release. "The pod's empty and all yours. I'm waiting for the next one. When you're done playing on the bridge I could use your help."

"Thanks," Kate answered absently, concentrating on guiding the pod into place.

Rick watched as it came in and hit their ship; he used the manual lock to hold it in place. "Got it, starting to unload."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick was tired but he needed to make dinner. "For two, Rick, for TWO!" He put some of it back and commenced cooking. "For two," he whispered and hung his head.

Kate walked into the kitchen, walked up behind Rick, and wrapped her arms around him. She loved him and wasn't afraid of it any longer. "What's for dinner?" She was starving.

"Funeral, we need to have a funeral." Rick didn't turn around and focused on his cooking.

Kate didn't let go of him and let her head rest on his back. "Yeah, except we don't have any bodies." Leslie was gone; she was now a part of the vast debris field that was out there. Paul was dead and trapped in the engineering bay; there was enough radiation to have killed him a hundred times over. Everyone on the other ships was part of the debris field as well. What did that leave them?

"Leave that to me." Rick was really starting to miss them. "Dinner! Lobster brushed with garlic, chili powder, orange peel, and butter, of course. Along with grilled asparagus, parmesan-fennel rolls, and classic tiramisu." He proudly displayed the lobster for her to see.

"You really are trying to get me fat," Kate smiled, looking at what he had.

"I'll meet you in the gym." Rick left her arms and started reaching for plates. "So long as all this gym work includes lots of kissing. I hate working out alone."

Kate smiled again. "I think that can be arranged."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate was stuffed and was sure she could barely move. "Your scans of the invoices didn't turn up any satellite dishes and we don't have any spares in storage. Wiring, yes; dishes, no." She took a sip of her wine.

Rick thought he knew what that meant. "So we're never going to be able to communicate with Earth again."

"Never say never, but yeah, it might mean just that. Someone's going to have to get close for us to talk to them unless you know something I don't."

"What about satellite missions to Saturn?" They couldn't be the only ones out here.

Kate was silent for a time. "Voyager 1 and 2 came and went. The same for Pioneer 11. Cassini came and stayed."

Rick jumped all over it. "Great, where is it?"

She hated to do it but she burst his bubble. "They crashed it into Saturn to make sure they didn't spoil any of the moons around Saturn."

"Of course they did. How _tree hugger_ of them." Rick laughed at his own expense.

Kate smiled at his joke on himself. "They did have plans on a follow-up mission but it never happened. We're alone out here, Rick."

"So what you're saying is that I don't have any competition for your affections." Rick smiled wryly, took a swallow of his wine and watched Kate laugh. It was a look and sound that he wanted to see a lot of.

"I need to tend to my domes tomorrow. Can you handle one or more of the supply pods?" Rick needed to get back to his work. What he came out here for.

She nodded. She was sure of herself. "I can handle a couple of them."

"I wonder if one of them has a blow up love doll inside it." Rick tried not to laugh though Kate did laugh since they both knew one of the pods was meant for the _Berkshire._

"Complete with vibrators and anal lube," Rick added with a grin. He finally had Kate laughing her ass off. "Maybe even a _bullet_ vibrator?" He couldn't help but laugh and Kate could barely stay in her seat from laughing so hard.

"Maybe…maybe his doll…was a virgin." They both kept on laughing.

"Complete with blood bulbs that burst each time," Rick chortled and they were both soon wiping away tears from laughing so hard.

Kate did her best to calm down. "We shouldn't be speaking badly of the dead."

"In his case I'll make an exception and since we can't contact Earth, my lawyer is still going to find every skeleton in his closet. Dead or alive, he's going down." Rick used his hand to demonstrate going down which had Kate laughing a little again.

Kate took more sips of her wine. "Any ideas on the funeral?" She loved the idea and was willing to help him.

"I'm still working on it. I'll let you know." Rick drank the rest of his wine.

He got back on topic. "So what's next? I know we can't slingshot around Saturn any longer and are actually past it by now. Do we need to change our course to line up for the next chance before we leave this system?"

"We do, actually." Kate looked at her watch. "In about 12 hours we need to make a small adjustment followed by making several more small ones after that. I think I can do it with what we have left. But you're right; if we miss it we'll head out into deep space."

"Isn't Earth going to know something's wrong when no one responds to them and they can see us going the wrong way?" Surely Earth would do something even if he didn't know what that something was.

Kate sat back and tried to think, now that she had some time. "I don't know of anyone who has a ship just sitting there waiting to launch. Certainly not one for a four year trip. As for satellite launches, there are none I know of that are meant to come out this far. Everyone is fixated on Mars.

"As far as supply pods are concerned… I don't know. It depends on what they decide. They can certainly see that there's only us now and they probably know why. They'll also quickly work out that we aren't changing course even if they don't know why.

"Since our long-range communications are down, so are all of our data signals that tell them how each ship is doing. Depending on just when the dish was destroyed they might know something. Even if they do send one supply pod, they're not designed for a trip longer than 2 years. The next supply pod launch should be soon but they're meant to be sent to a different location. If they want to send us one on our course they need to change the programming and I have no idea how long that will take." Kate tried to think of something else.

Rick broke it down. "So what you're trying to tell me is that we're screwed and can't expect any more help unless our slingshot around Neptune actually works."

"They may even write us off." Kate could see it happening. Two nations had already canceled their participation in the project. Others were likely to follow especially as Earth changed. Writing them off would simply end the project and save resources like sending supply pods for a project they were no longer going to support.

"Oh, aren't you a ray of sunshine." Rick was speaking rhetorically, naturally.

"Food's going to be our primary concern. We can make oxygen and we can make hydrogen; using those two components, we've been making water we can drink. We may not have access to the engineering bay but the power system is meant to last for 52 years. If we ever have to send in one of the B units, it can never come back out."

"That's why you wanted all these supply pods." Rick was catching up. Kate was in charge and he'd been willing to follow her orders. "We have four ships worth of supplies that are meant to last for 2 years for 4 people each. So maybe 10 years worth of food without another supply pod plus what we had left. If we start rationing now we might last what…15, maybe 20 years at best?"

"We have what's in your domes and what you can grow. You're the best, Castle; now might be a good time to prove it," Kate said since she had some faith in him.

"How far to the next system?" If they couldn't turn back…

"You don't want to know." They were talking about light years here not just Earth years.


	6. Chapter 6

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 6**

"How has your day been?" Rick had come to drop off her lunch on the bridge. Save for the weekends, they'd agreed to reduce meals down to once a day. Weekends would be two meals a day that would mostly be breakfast and dinner.

"Not great. I tried to adjust our course a little and one of the maneuvering thrusters quit on me. If we can't fix some of them, all we're going to do is go straight until our power runs out in about 50 years." Their entire journey thus far had used up 2 of their 52 years.

Rick tried to joke about it. "At least it didn't create a new hole in the hull." That got a weak smile from Kate. "I've separated out all of the fruits and vegetables that I can. I've even laid in an entire field of potatoes. So long as the domes hold up we'll have fresh produce every few months." He had done his job well.

"So we won't starve as we die of old age." Kate tried to make light of it, not realizing that it was something that Castle was more likely to say.

Rick smiled and came up to her and put her in his arms. "Space, the final frontier."

"Plagiarizing, are we?" Kate smiled back at him and put her arms around him.

"You saved us from the last catastrophe, you can save us from this one." Rick gave her a quick kiss and got one back in return. "Now eat your lunch, it's good for you. I'm going to go see what I can do with that last supply pod. It's power systems aren't meant to last much longer. It's a good thing the cargo bay we lost was for dry storage. It means our freezers are still functional and getting really full. I'm not entirely sure what's in the back of them anymore. Oh, and I've had to improvise on what to do with all the dry goods. Try not to run and up and down the main hallway, you might run into something."

"Just don't fill the exercise room. I still need to work off some of your food," Kate said.

"Eat your lunch before it gets cold." Rick gave her a quick kiss and let go of her. "Movie tonight? Someone ordered some movies I've never heard of."

"Our room tonight." Kate was willing. She saw him reach the door just as she reached her lunch. "Are any of them porn?" She tried to hide her grin.

"I'll set up a camera and we can make our own. Maybe I can give you another 20 plus orgasms and you can watch yourself climax over and over again." Rick leered at her, his eyes twinkling, and exited her bridge.

It was kinky and the idea of it had Kate smiling. She waited on her lunch and went over to a communications panel. "Set up the camera and recorder, Castle," she told the entire ship; she went over to her lunch and ate it while smiling widely.

Her only real question was would she survive another 20 plus orgasms? But she knew she was more than willing to find out.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

It had been a week and they were starting to find their groove both personally and professionally. Four was considered the absolute minimum number of people needed to run the ship but there was only the two of them now

Kate was standing at the engineering station looking everything over again. She wanted to know if anything changed even a little. She was trying to decide if it was worth committing one of the B units to being inside that section forever after since they had no way to clean it after it came out. She wasn't even sure how long it would last inside given the radiation.

"Captain Beckett, please report to airlock L4." Kate heard it over a shipwide comm. There was only one person who could make it but she looked everything over before leaving her bridge to find out what Castle was doing.

"Castle?" Kate caught up to him except all he did was offer for her to look inside.

What Kate saw had her pressing a hand over her mouth as she started to look it over. "It's a wreath." She'd seen them before except this one was different. He had obviously made it using plants from one or more of his domes. She saw he'd made a model of one of the ships and placed it at the top. The other ships were just pictures but each had a name.

At the bottom she saw pictures of Leslie and her husband, Paul. What she didn't understand initially were the two glasses sitting on the floor in front of it. Then it suddenly occurred to her. "Their favorite drinks?"

"I thought about giving them an entire meal but decided this was a better idea." He didn't want to say he didn't want to waste the food that they might need. "To kill the pain of being ejected out into space." Rick offered a joke instead.

Kate glared at him; it was not the time for wisecracks. She turned and moved over to a comm panel. "All B units report to airlock L4." She thought they might as well all be here.

"Captain." Abashed, Rick gestured for her to go first after the B units showed up, whistling and beeping at them.

Kate had thought about what to say but hadn't written anything down. Consequently, she struggled to think of something that was going to last. She took a deep breath and began speaking.

"For my shipmates including my fellow pioneers from the other ships, you will be missed both here and at home. My prayers are that you have moved on and are not trapped out here on a ghost ship, forever lost in space.

For Leslie. …I'm going to miss you and miss you calling me out on my bullshit. You were a good friend." Kate wiped away a tear that escaped.

Rick took his turn. "I am truly sorry that you all lost your lives out here in space, far from family and home. I would like to think that you took this job to try and save Earth's future, though most of you were probably here for the job and that's fine. In your own small way you were helping." He paused, hoping his voice would last.

"Paul, you didn't have to sacrifice yourself, but I thank you for it anyway. I will do what I can to help the memory of your life to exist as long as possible. We will get you out of that room someday."

"I'm truly sorry, Alexis; your dream is dead. All that time and all that work for nothing. Perhaps I should have stayed on Earth but I chose my fight here in space. I'm really sorry." Rick wiped at the tears that had escaped and felt his lower lip quiver. He had failed his sister.

Kate felt bad for him but let him cry for now. She steeled herself then stepped up to the door, closed the inner door, and overrode having the oxygen removed. She opened the outer door and let what was in the airlock shoot out into space.

She gave voice to her final goodbye and turned to console Castle only to see him hurrying away. It hurt her heart seeing him like this.

She didn't know where he had gone but she could guess. In the end it took going to three domes before she finally found him. He was sitting under one of the apple trees that were in the center of the dome. She wasn't sure but it looked like the apples were getting close to being ready to pick.

Kate carefully sat down in the dirt next to him. She knew he'd seen her and that she had joined him. "You still have 6 domes, babe." It wasn't completely over yet.

"Six domes out of forty-eight from eight different regions. It's over, Kate; these domes just don't know it yet." If it was as bad back on Earth as he feared, it was more than just over.

"Don't quit, Rick; I didn't fall in love with a quitter. These domes need you. Her dream might be over, but yours isn't dead yet. Don't fail these 6 domes. They need you. … **I** need you. Don't give up on us."

Her plea actually got him to look at her. What she saw was a lot of pain. Kate twisted her body to kiss him. "I love you. So get back to work, tree hugger. We're not dead yet." She kissed him again then got up to leave and go back to her bridge.

"And don't forget to turn on the video equipment tonight. I want to see us making love to each other." She dropped her gaze. "…Unless you don't love me anymore," she said in a subdued voice. A small part of her actually feared that he might one day.

"Never!" Rick wiped his tears and lifted a hand, asking her to help him up. "Domes."

Kate finally smiled. "Get back to work, Castle. I'll show you a trick I know that involves ice cubes tonight. …After I tie you to the bed again." Her smile got wider with the look he was giving her.

"She's not mad at you, you know. Alexis would never be mad at you. That meteor storm is what did this, not you. Prove to her that you can still do your job, that you still believe. We're not dead yet. Not until I say we are." She left him to work on his domes.

Kate stopped at the double doors. "Don't be late tonight, or I'll start without you." She smiled and put a little extra sway in her hips until the doors closed.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick carried a box of apples from one of his domes into the kitchen and got to work. "What can I make using mostly apples?" He started thinking and commenced gathering supplies.

Some time later he stepped over to a comm panel. "Dinner, mademoiselle." He looked at what he had done with today's apples.

Kate walked into the kitchen and started breathing in deeply, then stopped and closed her eyes. God but she loved having a boyfriend that knew how to cook, especially since she sucked at it and was sure she could burn water.

"Your chair, miss." Rick had pulled a chair out for her.

Kate smiled, sat down, and let him help her to the table. "It looks amazing, babe. What is all this?" The pie was about the only thing she recognized.

"Honey custard with caramelized apples." Rick pointed to an oval baking dish then waved a hand toward the pie plate. "Double crust apple pie." Then there was this, "Baked apples stuffed with oatmeal and spiced brown sugar." Which was followed by, "Kale and apple soup." Kate made a face at the green soup. "Don't judge a book by its cover," he scolded. And the main course, "Chunky pork and apple stew."

There was a delighted smile on Kate's face. "I'm detecting a theme here."

"We have enough apples to do this again if you like it. I have a lot of recipes that use apples so it doesn't have to be these." Rick started eating and watched Kate sample the stew. Her face lit up and she ate the whole bowl. She even ate some of the kale and apple soup.

Rick got up to retrieve some whipped cream to put on her pie. "Don't. Bring the whipped cream to our room tonight." She wanted to be his dessert. She saw him smile and watched him begin putting everything away for later.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate put in her code to enter her bridge and then input the code to take over even though there was no one to relieve.

First she started with the repairs that she had given to B6 yesterday before ending her day. Kate looked everything over and read the log that B6 had beeped and whistled. Kate hung her head. "SHIT!" Next she started going through everything that they had logged as being supplies. If it couldn't be fixed it needed to be replaced. "And we're going to have to make one." Kate moaned and went back to searching their list.

Rick was done and keyed in his code to enter the bridge. "How's your day going?" He walked up to where she was standing. "Looking for something?" All he saw was her doing searches for each cargo bay. "Remember, not everything is in a storage bay. More than I care to think about is still in bins stacked up in the main hallway."

"We can't fix any of our maneuvering jets; they need to be replaced so I'm looking for a kit to make them," Kate explained.

"In that case…" Rick took over the search. "One's in container BL3 and one's in MO3. That's it; we didn't order any and neither did any of the other ships whose supply pods we intercepted." He stepped away to let her look.

"Have fun. I'm going to go hit the shower. I'd kill for a pool or even a hot tub. Do we have a kit for that?" He didn't know where it would go but he would make it work.

"Don't I wish." Kate would love to have one, too. "And stay out of our water tanks." She wagged her finger at him knowing that he might be thinking about it.

"Yes, Captain Beckett." Rick gave her a snappy salute.

Kate moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Call me anything you like but don't call me Captain Beckett again. We're far more than that."

Rick thought about it and wasn't afraid. He tried his first pet name and she shook her head. "Baby?" He tried again and she scrunched up her face. _Cupcake_ was a definite NO. Knowing her, he had one last chance to get it right before she hurt him. "Fianceé?"

Kate knew her eyes had opened wide and she could feel her heart pounding. She loved him and she knew it. Didn't want to live without him even, but they had stepped into the marriage talk zone.

"You'd…marry me?" Was he even asking or were they just talking about it?

He was all set to make a joke about marrying one of the birds in one of the domes and had even opened his mouth to say it. "Stand over here." Rick took her away from this screen. "Don't move." He left her and started hunting for something.

Kate didn't get it. What the heck was he up to? All he had to do was say yes or no. It wasn't like they were going to get married tomorrow. "BR4." Rick found what he was looking for.

Rick pointed at her. "Hold that thought," he said and headed for the door only to come over to her. "Yes, I love you and yes, I would marry you." He kissed her and moved over to the door again.

Kate was smiling once more and walked over to the screen. "BR4, what's in BR4?" What did he see that she didn't.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

 _A week has passed_

Kate was happy as she looked over her work. Putting together a maneuvering jet wasn't really her thing, however, their computer had proved to be very useful as had been B2. "Run a test for me please, B2." She stood back since she wasn't sure it wouldn't just blow up on her.

Kate listened to him beep and whistle after stopping work. She stepped up and picked up the pad she'd been using. "YES!" She pumped her fist. "One down and one to go, B2. Thank you." She even bowed a little to him and listened to him whistle and beep. Kate picked up the pad and looked at what he said. "What do you mean you need to go?" She didn't understand and open-mouthed, watched him roll quickly away.

Granted she hadn't yet opened the next kit but she needed his help to put it together. "You'd better come back when you are done!" Kate yelled and heard him whistle and beep before going out of sight.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"There you are." Rick watched B2 roll into the room. "Here's what I want and here's what you have to use. Do you think you can do it?" B2 reached out to take it and downloaded the parameters of the project. The droid whistled and beeped at him. Rick looked at his pad. "SHIT! I have others if you can make any of those work." He was prepared for being shot down and showed him three other pieces.

Rick watched him go over to a computer outlet where he plugged himself in then whistled and beeped at him. Rick picked up his pad. "Seriously! You can do this with one of these?" Rick was shocked and listened to him whistle and beep. "Well, okay then. You work on that part and I'll work on the other."

He was tired and his back hurt from standing the entire time but he watched as B2 merged the two pieces with robotic precision and then listened to him beep and whistle.

He was picking up his pad as he saw B2 start to roll away. "No telling Kate anything about this," Rick yelled and listened to more beeps and whistles. He read his pad and put it down then picked up what they'd made. "She'd better love it," he said to himself. He loved it even if it was partly because he had made it.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick walked into their bedroom and found a naked Kate setting up the camera and recorder. "You really like that thing." He had initially thought it would happen once or twice but Kate had been recording all of their lovemaking.

"I like watching us make love. Do you not like it?" She would stop if he hated it.

"No, I never said that. If you like it then we'll keep it. Come here." Rick motioned for her to join him at the bed. Kate joined him and started working on his buttons.

"You need to be naked, babe." He couldn't make love to her wearing clothes. Rather than undressing, she felt him move one of her hands away which confused her. He said he loved her and didn't mind her making movies of them making love and she loved him. Then she watched as he dropped to one knee while still holding her hand. Kate drew in a breath and stopped breathing.

"Captain Katherine Houghton Beckett. …Yes, I looked it up." His eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. "If you would, Kate, please do me the great honor of being my wife. I love you more than words can describe." Rick placed what he and B2 had made for her in her hand so she could see it.

Kate felt the tears starting. She stared at the ring shining in her palm. The ring looked to be made from platinum and the diamond on it was large but it looked beautiful. Stunned, Kate watched him take the ring, slip it on her finger, and look up at her.

Since Kate still wasn't breathing she squeaked out a tiny, "Yes," then roughly cleared her throat. "YES! With all my heart." She used her free hand to wipe her tears. "Wherever did you find this?" The emerald cut diamond was just the right size for her finger.

"I made it." She looked at him in shocked surprise. "The stone is an industrial diamond that B2 used to make this. I made the ring and B2 married the two, but it was my idea."

"So that's why B2 kept leaving me while I was trying to build maneuvering jets." Kate understood now and went back to admiring the ring on her finger.

"It's a 3 carat diamond on a simple platinum ring. There are more industrial diamonds if you don't like it," he said anxiously. Kate was just staring at it while wiping away tears.

"NO! I love it! Make love to me, fiancé of mine. Make me scream." Kate reached up to wrap her arms around his neck and lifted up to kiss him. "Strip, babe, I want you inside me."


	7. Chapter 7

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 7**

 _It has been three months since we last visited our heroes_

Rick had his tools and the B units were charged and ready as he stepped up behind her with both of them on the bridge. "Ready."

"Cross your fingers. Applying 50% power to the first maneuvering thruster for three seconds." Kate pressed a button followed by pressing another button. "Works perfectly." She grinned with satisfaction. "Shall we try for number two?"

"Here we go. Applying 50% power for three seconds." Kate pressed the button and instantly a red light and alarm started to sound. Followed by another red light and another.

"It's a cascade effect." Rick pushed her to one side and started pressing buttons. The red lights remained, however, no new ones popped up.

"What the hell was that?" This was her bridge.

"Cascade affect," Rick stated succinctly and looked to see if they had a new hole in their ship. He found nothing and turned to Kate. "Do you remember your grandparents' stories from when they were kids at Christmas? With a string of tree lights, when one light went out all the lights went out and you had to find the one that burned out or was loose before all the others lit back up. This is something similar. The power you activated went to the first thruster before moving on to the next thruster because that thruster wasn't the right one until it reached the right thruster. It malfunctioned and sent that to the one downstream which exploded and down to the next one."

"But that's impossible. Everything has its own connection. Everything." What he was talking about was absolutely not feasible.

Rick shook his head and began to explain. "Budget cuts; revision to the design; it was a Value Engineering request; the contractor took a shortcut and pocketed the difference. Take your pick, but some of the thrusters are on the same line. One blows up and sends a signal to the next one and on and on until it reaches the start."

"Budget cuts. We're in a damn space ship and they did budget cuts." Kate believed his explanation; she blew up and started kicking the closest panel.

He reminded her of some of the latest construction failures. "You remember when that walkway collapsed? The contractor did something different than what the design drawings told him to do because it was easier, took less time, and saved him money. How about the tower that collapsed because the contractor cheated on the concrete? It was little more than powder."

"The Leaning Tower of Pisa." Kate was catching on. "So what else did they cheat on?" She was now really pissed and went over to a screen. "We just lost three thrusters, all three in that sector."

"Is that bad?" Rick was a tree hugger. Yes, he knew electrical because even in his line of work, he had to use, understand, and fix electrical, plumbing, and even environmental systems.

"Bad enough. Even worse, I used up all the kits to make those two. We want any more and we're going to have to make them from scratch." Kate didn't know any other way to replace them.

"I vote no. We blow up anything else and we might not even be able to go straight. Speaking of which, how are the main engines? That's where we get all our power, right?" Rick was still a tree hugger.

"Yeah." Kate walked over to that control screen. "No fluctuations, no deviations, no malfunctions. We're effectively coasting unless I request a burn. Our power is in that area though technically we don't get our power from the engines."

Rick broke it down to what they already knew. "So either way neither of us are going into that section. Not when it's full of radiation."

"Not unless there's a spider in there and it bites you," Kate teased.

"That would be so cool! What's the code to get through the door?" Rick halfway teased back.

"Only my fiancé would want to be a super hero out in space." Kate shook her head and looked for any damage that they didn't know about.

Rick walked up behind her and placed his arms around her. "I want to come to the rescue of the woman I love. How cool would that be?" He started kissing her neck.

Kate tilted her head for a moment to let him because she loved him. Then she shrugged him off of her. "That's enough, Castle, I still have work to do."

"So that's a no to taking you on the table over there." He hadn't actually let go of her yet.

"No, I mean, yes. No sex on my bridge, Castle. Now go find something to do. How about if you feed me?" Kate wheedled and spun around in his arms. "Let me do my job. I need to work out what losing these thrusters means to us. …Lunch, babe." Kate began pushing him toward the door.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

 _It has been nine months since the loss of the fleet_

"Castle, can you come to the bridge, please? Castle to the bridge," Rick heard while on his hands and knees. He was busy harvesting his field of potatoes and had big plans for them.

"Now?" Rick grumbled a bit, straightened up, and dropped his potatoes into his bin. With a heavy sigh, he marked his place, stood up, and headed off to the bridge.

He input his code. Kate heard the door. "Over here, Castle." She raised her arm and waved without turning to look. "We have…" She turned to look at him and began laughing. "What were you doing? You're a mess." He looked like he had dirt everywhere, even in his hair.

"You interrupted me while I was harvesting my potato field, so what's so important?" Rick needed to get back to work. He'd been trying to save his back so he had been on his hands and knees. He'd been crawling along while pulling his bins with him. One bin for potatoes that would be food and others for the smaller ones that would be used to plant another crop.

Kate pulled him up to the table after finding a clear spot. "We need to start making choices. This is us." She zoomed in to show their spot on the table then zoomed back out. "This is Neptune, the planet we want to do a slingshot around to get home eventually." Rick couldn't miss seeing it.

"This line is our present course. I've been trying to get us to adjust course little by little, but it's not easy what with missing the number of maneuvering jets that we are." She put a colored line on the map. Their present course was going to miss Neptune and take them out into space.

"This is the course we need to do our slingshot." Kate showed him a new course that went around Neptune and headed back into the system toward Earth.

"And you need me for this why?" Rick was thinking _Just make the course change and let_ _me get back to_ _work._

"Two reasons. First, our ability to change course is a bit iffy. Follow me." Kate took him over to a different screen.

"This is us, as you know, since you've seen this screen before. All of these red lights are the damaged or just plain missing maneuvering jets. …None in this sector, just one in this sector and only one in this sector." Kate paused a moment to let him look it over.

"Changing course is going to be difficult, not impossible but there is a problem. If we lose one in either of these two sectors we might go into a spin that's going to be difficult to stop," she warned.

"Meaning no slingshot." Rick was keeping up. "You said two things."

Kate took him back over to the table. She pointed to a spot on the table. "There's something out here." She put her finger on it. "Over here," she said, then took him to a different screen. "Radar shows that there's something out there. We're too far to get any resolution on it or even just how big it is. It's stationary, though. It's just sitting there in space." He watched as the radar return remained unchanged.

Rick left her and that screen while he went back to the table and looked at everything.

"What are you thinking?" She may be the captain but this was too big for just her and he was her fiancé.

"We might not be able to maneuver enough to do the slingshot. So much so that we might end up spinning out into space. Which means never getting home. Conversely, we still need to make a course change if we want to check out what's sitting out there." Rick tried to think this through.

"If we do nothing, we go out into space. If the slingshot fails, we go out into space. If we go look at this thing, we go out into space." Kate tried to point out that they couldn't do it all.

"So what is it?" Rick put his finger on the unknown and watched Kate shake her head.

"Honestly, I don't know," she replied. "The fleet's gone, not sitting way out here. Is it one of ours? Did we send something out here?" Most of what they did was send ships to Mars; sending anything out here had stopped years ago. She brought up a possibility. "Maybe it's private."

"Or alien," Rick suggested and she glared at him. "It's possible; we obviously didn't put it out here. Even Geoffrey Bazos isn't that rich and how did he keep it out of the press if he did?" he challenged.

Kate wanted to tell him he was nuts, but he had a point. However, she doubted seriously that they sent anything out here.

"You said it's just sitting there, right? So it's not a ship unless something happened to it," Rick remarked.

Kate pointed out the fatal flaw in his affection for this thing. "Going there doesn't get us home, babe."

"Maybe it does." Rick had an idea but saw Kate looking at him like he'd lost his mind. "It's on radar so it's _something._ Maybe we can stop next to it and take parts off of it to fix us. Then turn around and plot a course to home."

Kate looked at the table and considered it. "Let me think about it." What she really wanted to do was plot where Earth was going to be anywhere from a few months from now to years in the future.

"We could meet aliens!" Rick kissed her head, headed back to his dome, and back to his potato field.

"Aliens." Kate shook her head and tried to think.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate had made her choice and already knew Rick would love it so she didn't tell him, knowing he would approve. She was worried, though, and she ended up in their room, watching a video.

Rick was still a filthy mess and needed a shower so he stepped into their bedroom. The second the door opened he could hear Kate screaming while having an orgasm. He was puzzled; much to his surprise she was lounging on the sofa watching a video. "What are you doing?" He turned to look at the screen.

"Watching us make love," Kate replied and eyed him as he sat next to her in his dirty clothes.

"You know, guys would be sitting here playing with themselves while watching something like this, so what do you see in it?" Rick kept watching while he waited for an answer.

"Don't laugh." Kate loved him and was willing to share.

"Never." He couldn't think of anything that would cause him to laugh about them making love to each other.

Rick waited since it looked like Kate was really thinking this over.

"You promised not to laugh." She took a breath and began to explain. "When we climax together it's the closest we'll ever be to being one. You, me, one. Maybe two bodies but one mind. To not just feel that you love me but to know that you love me because we're one."

Rick tried to think about that. She wanted to be one with him and it would only happen when she and he climaxed at the same moment. His knowledge of a climax told him that it happened in only seconds, if not in an instant. It didn't sound like enough time to actually learn anything and what she wanted was impossible, anyway.

He opened his mouth to ask a question then closed it. She didn't want to be him, she wanted for them to be…well, them or us. "Hold that thought." He got up, kissed her head, and went to take a shower since he was a mess.

Kate finished her video and turned the system off. At least he hadn't laughed at her, though he hadn't actually asked her any questions, either. She was still questioning if she had opened her big mouth when she heard him call her name.

She got up, trying to think of what to tell him so that it didn't alienate him. She wanted to make sure they stayed a couple because she truly loved him. Kate stopped at the door and her mouth fell open.

He was standing there almost naked, wearing a pair of, was it one of her g-strings? He'd also lit a number of candles and was holding the remote for the recorder.

Rick motioned toward the bed and smiled at her. "Strip and get in bed. We're going to find out if I can give you another 20 or more orgasms. You want to be close, let's see just how close we can get."

Kate started crying and never knew she could love anyone this much.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick input his code to gain access to the bridge. He announced himself with, "You rang?" and saw a worried look on her face. "Don't tell me, we lost another maneuvering jet." They seemed to be dropping like flies.

Kate didn't answer him so he moved over to the table she was standing. "I've seen this before." Rick recognized all of the locations. "So why am I here?" She was the captain, she was the one who knew how to pilot this ship. He didn't have a clue and would probably either have them spinning off into space or blowing them up.

"I made a choice. …This is our course." Kate showed him where they were going.

He saw the arc and, brow furrowed, tried to think. "Isn't that our alien ship?"

"Maybe. …This way." She took him over to another screen. "This is your alien." Kate put it up on the screen.

Rick shrugged; it looked like the same blob to him. "It doesn't look any different."

"We're still too far out to get a detailed return. However, _this_ is your alien. And this…is us." Kate pressed a button to superimpose their ship next to it.

"HOLY SHIT!" Rick bent in close to get a good look. "How big is that thing?" He had a vague memory of how big they were so just how big was it?

"I'm not really sure just yet. But…" Kate pressed another button and brought up another comparison.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Rick looked away and then came back for another look. "It's bigger than our entire fleet!" He walked away again only to suddenly stop. "How have we not seen this thing before? We've had satellites looking this way for what, years?" Anything that big should have been seen by now.

Kate moved over to still another screen. "We can see what's ahead of us. It's not great but this is what we see." Rick stepped over to her since he was interested in just what this thing looked like.

"I don't see anything," he muttered.

"Yeah, neither do I," she agreed. "This is where we are going. I didn't want to take the risk of trying for a slingshot around Neptune. Too much could go wrong. That thing was out there, so as you suggested, I thought we could scavenge what we needed to get home. I thought it was our best shot to not end up lost in space until either our power ran out or we ran out of food."

Rick went back over to the screen to look again. "Unless this is one of those old Super Star Destroyers, this thing isn't a ship." He kept looking at it. "What was that old movie?" He snapped his fingers a few times. "Galactica, it was what, over a mile long?" He stared at it, trying to make sense of it all.

He glanced at Kate. "Do you think it's abandoned?" Because if it wasn't that meant it was manned by someone.

"If it is this might be my last mistake I ever make," she said anxiously and began wringing her hands. "Think about it, babe. As big as it is, how long did it take them to build it? Those ships you mentioned had what, hundreds if not thousands onboard?" Kate was starting to get really worried. "In case you haven't noticed this ship isn't armed. The only weapon we have is the one for personal protection that's on this bridge."

"You're assuming this is bad, Kate. We knew we didn't put it there so someone else did and if they were as dangerous as you're thinking, why haven't they attacked us already? Not just us but our entire planet? Maybe this is one of those old Star Trek episodes. Or Twilight Zone."

"So not helping, Castle." Most Twilight Zone episodes were bad for someone.

Rick walked up to her. "We're not living in a movie and if there's someone on that thing why aren't they talking to us? Because they're afraid of us or that Earth will be listening in. Like they're worried about anything we could do to them." Rick rolled his eyes just like she had taught him.

The corners of her mouth turned up a bit at the look he gave her. "We haven't had a choice ever since that meteor storm. You made the right decision unless you don't want to stop there and just keep flying out into space. I'll fight with you or I'll die with you. Your choice." Rick took her in his arms. "I'm just a tree hugger."

Kate smiled at him. "Not to me." He'd proved he was a whole lot more than that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 8**

 _It has been one month since we last saw our two heroes_

Rick was the most happy when he was in one of the domes doing the work he'd hired on to do. He'd decided on taking a break and knew they should be getting a lot closer by now so he punched in his code to get onto the bridge.

He found Kate standing in front of one of her screens and stepped up next to her to see what she was looking at. "How are our aliens?"

"Nothing much has changed, babe. The resolution has gotten better, however." Kate brought up the latest she had.

Rick looked at it and looked at it. "Am I wrong or is it in two pieces? Here and here." He drew his finger down each piece.

"Look again, only this time ignore the less bright areas," Kate suggested and watched as Rick looked at it again. He looked at from different angles a few times then shook his head.

She grabbed a marker and drew a big arc followed by three more. "Four pieces? What the hell kind of ship is built in four pieces?"

"We're not coming straight on to it. We're at an angle to it. This column here." She ran her finger down the arc.

"So not a spaceship but a space station? That's built in 4 parts?" It didn't make sense to him.

"We'll get a better resolution in about 2 weeks; 2 weeks later we'll be there. I need to start slowing down now if we're going to stop there. The question is which part do we stop at?"

Rick shrugged. "Pick one?" At the moment they all looked the same to him even if he didn't see it only what Kate drew. "Can we slow down?"

"That presents its own problem. Ordinarily I would use the main engines and do a burn, except…" Kate let that go.

"Don't you have an engineering station on your bridge here somewhere?" Rick queried; he began looking around but didn't see it, not that he knew what he was looking for.

"I do, but it's mostly for monitoring the engines, not controlling them. I can do the burn and shut down the burn, but if something goes wrong it might mean needing to get into the engineering bay. That would mean sending in one of the B units who would never come back out." He might be a drone but Kate didn't think of them like that.

"We need to stop there unless you want us to go out into deep space." Rick didn't think they had a choice.

"I know; I'll get started on slowing down. How are the domes?" She was asking because he'd been spending a lot of time there lately.

"We're going to have a very big harvest day coming up soon. I could use some help if you can spare the time. It's just picking fruit and vegetables; you don't have to dig anything up." She might get a little dirty but nothing like what he had been getting lately.

"For fresh fruit and veggies I'll make the time. Let me start work on my burn calculations." Kate was dismissing him.

"I'll be in the gym then start work on dinner after taking a shower if you need me." Rick stepped up to her and gave her a quick kiss. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Kate answered and started calculating when she needed to do a burn and for how long.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick was headed for their room when Kate's voice sounded over the speakers. "Babe, can you come to the bridge, please." He did a quick turn around and started toward her.

After entering his code to gain entrance. "What's up?" Kate waved him over to her.

"Two more weeks and we'll be there," Kate told him. "And the resolution is a lot better." Curious, Rick looked at the screen they were in front of.

What he saw were indeed four large arc-looking objects. A lot like a large column or pylon except it had a curve to it. "These two are a lot bigger," he remarked, indicating the two on the left. "What are these areas?" He ran his finger over one of the two areas. They were just as curved but they were a lot thicker and looked to be attached to the curved columns.

"I'm guessing housing." It was the best Kate could come up with.

His head snapped up. _"_ _ **THEY'RE MANNED**_ _ **?**_ _"_ That presented a whole new problem. They had originally talked about stealing what they needed to fix their ship so that they could get home. Rick had considered the possibility of it being manned, but had put most of his hope on it being automated or dead in space.

"They're not answering any of my hails." Kate had actually tried contacting them.

Rick glared at her. "You're talking to them?"

"Tried to. So far, everything I send goes unanswered, though." It might be unmanned if no one was answering, or they didn't want to talk.

Agitated, he scrubbed his hands over his face. "Do we still stop?"

She turned to look at him. "Do we have a choice? I've already done one burn to slow us down a little. I need to do another just before we reach it and then use the thrusters to hold us in position. I'm thinking right along one of these big ones here." Kate stabbed her finger at the monitor.

"If they don't talk to us then we do what we came here for. Fix our ship and head home," Kate said since they were committed to this.

"Little gray men with big black eyes, maybe?" Rick was suddenly beginning to like the idea of meeting aliens.

"Could be a race of droids," Kate countered.

Rick shuddered. "Don't even think that. Cybermen, Daleks, the Borg. Uh-uh, bad idea. One wants to upgrade us, the other wants to kill us, and the other one wants to assimilate us. Little gray men, definitely." Kate's idea was the absolute worst outcome possible.

"Well we're going to find out in two weeks." She didn't know what to expect. Just the fact that this thing was even out here was huge.

"Do not make them mad." Rick kissed her cheek and started for their room again. Their world was about to change in two weeks.

"Don't make them mad," Kate repeated to herself. "How do you…" She turned to say something to Castle only to find him already gone. "Don't make them mad, right." She stared at the image they had of it.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate called Rick onto the bridge each and every day, including the day that she was going to do the final burn that would slow them down to a crawl. Slow enough that the thrusters could stop them and hold them in position.

"I've got the calculations for our burn, just need to check the radar to get the final numbers and we're ready." Kate walked over to the screen, looked at the return, and saw the distances; she was ready to do the math.

She suddenly noticed that it wasn't where it was supposed to be. "Holy… **IT'S MOVED!** "

"What do you mean it's moved?" Rick moved over next to her quickly. "Moved to where?" He saw it on the radar return.

"Okay, more spun than moved. We're presently headed straight down the middle now. Between the two arcs on each side. We were headed right for this arc here at an angle. It's moved." Kate used both hands to point at the screen.

"We're going straight down the middle. Through it and out into space?" Rick asked.

"I need to do the burn." They wouldn't stop where they'd planned but at least they would stop. Kate went over to the engineering screen and started the countdown.

"Three… two… one." Kate pressed and saw all the numbers change indicating that the engines had ignited and the burn had started.

Eyes wide with concern, Rick looked over at her. "Kate, I don't feel any different." During the previous burn they'd felt the ship slowing down since technically they themselves didn't.

Kate moved her hands to the keyboard and started typing madly. "This isn't possible," she muttered. She stopped typing and looked at her screen.

"What's not possible? Did it not work?" He moved over to the screen that would show all the damage in red lights that they still had and started looking for new ones.

"We're not slowing down. I'm doing a full burn and we should be slowing down but we're not." Kate went back to typing. "The engines are working, we're just not slowing down. Actually…" She resumed typing. "Not possible, just not possible." She stared at her screen.

"What's not possible?" Rick left his screen and joined her at hers.

Kate gestured at the screen. "If this is right, we're actually speeding up which is impossible."

Rick stood there for a moment, thinking. "Shut them down," he suddenly announced.

"What? WHY?"

"You're doing a burn to slow us down and yet we're going faster. So shut them down." Rick left her and went to a different screen and turned it on.

He waved her over. "Kate, shut them down and come here."

Kate was conflicted. If anything, she needed to continue the burn to try and slow them down. If they didn't slow down, they wouldn't be able to stop. They would never get home. It was just that with the burn they were going faster.

"Screw it!" She stabbed at the button, then killed the burn, and went over to join Castle. "What!?" All he did was point at the screen. On the screen was the lone camera that was pointed forward. There was a lot of light and it was centered in the center of the four arcs. It put out so much light that they could easily see the four arcs. They could also see what to her looked like antennae sticking out toward them on each of two of the arcs.

"Are those windows?" Rick pointed at spaces on the arc and then at the same spaces on what was clearly a building attached to the side of the closest arc.

Kate wanted to shake her head, to deny what she was seeing. "Windows are too dangerous." But she squinted her eyes and tried to look closer. She had to admit that they did look like windows and there appeared to be a lot of them.

"The glow is getting bigger," Rick said suddenly. Kate took her eyes off the windows, focusing on the glow, and watched as it got bigger and bigger. "Am I wrong or is it taking up the entire space?"

She began shaking her head. "We're headed right for it." She knew that much.

They watched until their picture disappeared and became nothing but snow.

Kate pressed her body into Rick's and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you."

Rick wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, too."

They waited for everything to just… **END**.

Instead they saw the screen in front of them start to stretch away from them. Then suddenly they were stretching as well. Both of them began screaming. Everything looked like it stretched off into forever.

Rather abruptly everything was back to normal. "What the hell was that?" Rick looked around and everything looked like it was supposed to again.

She didn't want to let go of him, but she did look at the screen and all she saw was black with stars in the distance. "What happened? What was that?" Kate was beginning to be more Captain Beckett and let go of Rick to move over to the radar screen.

"Babe, we're not alone." She clearly saw a contact and it was close and getting closer.

He joined her and together they watched it get nearer and nearer until it stopped.

"It's right over us by just a few feet. It's not as big as us but is about as big as this section." Kate didn't know what to think. "We don't have a camera that looks that way. We're not going to be able to see it, damn it!"

"THE DOMES!" Rick had an idea and started for the door. "Bring a camera. The domes are far forward; if we can get high enough we can look out the domes and take pictures." He made it to the door, held it open, and waited impatiently.

A moment later both of them were running down the main hallway with a camera in Kate's hand.

"Let me move the lift." It was what he'd used to patch the holes, ultimately filling the holes with liquid glass for a more permanent fix. Then he'd slapped a film over it that was meant to help hold out any radiation that found that location.

"Get in," Rick told her. He climbed in after her and then started to raise them up to the glass of the dome.

What they saw was a ship that was sending lights down to them that seemed to be hitting almost everywhere, including the domes. "Pictures," he reminded her. A moment later, she raised the camera and began taking pictures that they could analyze later.

"What's it doing?" Kate didn't really understand what the lights were for.

"There's a glow on the back of their ship. I'm guessing those are its engines. Maybe those lights are tractor beams, like in Star Trek," Rick suggested.

They kept watching as Kate continued to take pictures of everything, including their ship and where the lights were touching them.

Rich reached a realization. "It's a tug boat. We're being towed!"

"Towed where?"

He spun around to look forward. "There, that bright light. It's the closest star. It's what, about the same distance we were from our sun?" Rick was guessing but it sounded right.

"So what was that thing?" Kate watched the star, wondering if they were actually getting any closer.

Rick shrugged. "Worm hole generator?" He started snapping his fingers trying to remember. "What was that old sci-fi show? They used jump gates to get into hyperspace to travel faster than light. Earth Alliance. …Minbari. …Babylon 5!" He snapped his fingers one last time and pointed at Kate.

"Hyperspace?" She didn't remember any such TV show.

"It allowed faster than light travel, except that it was dangerous, if I remember correctly. You had to follow a communications beam between the two jump gates or end up lost in hyperspace." Rick tried to recall more about the show.

Kate shook her head. "Except I don't remember being anywhere else. Just there and then suddenly here."

"Yeah, okay, so not Babylon 5 with hyperspace." Rick deflated a little since meeting aliens would have been so cool.

"Maybe they'll talk to us now." Rick pressed the button that would take them back down.

A quick run to the bridge and after several attempts at getting someone to talk to them, especially since they could see a ship…"Nothing." Kate gave up trying. "I'm going to download our pictures." She picked up the camera, plugged it in, and began transferring the pictures.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"What are these? It's where all the lights are coming from." Kate zoomed in to get a closer look.

They looked like massive **T** s sticking out the front of this ship. There was one on each side.

Rick reached and zoomed back out, then zoomed in on a different location. "This looks like the bridge. There are even windows on three sides." He'd also spotted a space on top just aft of the big **T** s that was above the remainder of the ship. The engines looked to be in the back of the main ship.

Kate moved the zoom and they saw lettering. "What does that say?"

It looked like a capital letter **A** next to a capital letter **V** , followed by an equal sign . There was another capital letter **A** and then something that looked like a character for a flag including a pole.

" **AV** **A flag**? …Haven't got a clue. It might explain why they aren't talking to us. They don't understand us any more than we're going to understand them." It was clearly aliens, though, much to his excitement. Definitely not a ship from Earth.

"Yet they used their _Jump Gate,_ as you call it, to send us here instead of just letting us go off out into space," Kate pointed out.

"Well we were trying to slow down and stop. Maybe they didn't think they had a choice. Whoever _they_ are," Rick suggested.

"You would think it would be armed. It could just blow us up," Kate returned. "And why is it on the edge of our system anyway?" That was the part that pissed her off the most. They were being spied on. But for what reason?

"Another question: Why was that ship waiting for us and where is your _Jump Gate_ on this end? Radar only shows him." They were the only two anywhere near here.

They both went through all the pictures that Kate took for the next three hours but didn't really learn anything new.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Come on, you can help me this time." Rick tugged on Kate to get her to come with him.

"Steaks!" Kate smiled wide while she watched Rick cook. "What do you think we're going to find?" she asked while watching him flip the steaks.

"Besides aliens?" Rick shrugged. "They're advanced enough to build that thing and if this place is home, they're good enough to get that thing to us."

"Just so long as they don't eat us," Kate commented with a slight shudder.

"Ooo, nice _V_ comment." Rick was impressed. She just smiled.

"Seriously, though?" Kate wanted his opinion.

"If they wanted us dead I'm guessing we'd be dead so it's something else. I doubt it's anything we have. They are clearly more advanced than we are. I just don't know. It could even be what's in the domes maybe, or what they think might be in them."

They had to wait.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

It had been two weeks and their friend had never left them. Rick input his code to gain access to the bridge. "How's it going?" He found her at the radar screen.

"I don't know where we're going but it's busy out there." Kate pointed out a few individual ships that showed up on her screen.

"What's that there?" Rick pointed to a large group of dots.

"Space junk or a whole fleet of ships. I can single out 46 returns in that area alone. But we aren't going anywhere near it. Our friend has us going this way; where all the action is." Kate put a finger on her screen.

"Planets?" Rick inquired.

"So far just that one gas giant we saw. We are headed for what's called _t_ _he_ _g_ _reen_ _z_ _one_ so he's taking us somewhere."

"It's been what, two weeks? It took us 2 years so we must be really moving. My kind of tug boat." Rick was impressed.

"Definitely faster than we can go," Kate agreed easily. "At this rate, maybe two more days, give or take."


	9. Chapter 9

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 9**

"CASTLE report to the bridge! You really need to see this." Kate didn't believe it herself.

Rick was huffing and puffing from sprinting the entire way as he screwed up putting in his code the first time to gain entry to the bridge. "WHAT!" he yelled the second the door opened and saw Kate at the screen that showed the view of their camera on the bow of the ship. "WOW!" His mouth fell open.

There was an immense space station hanging over a blue and white planet that looked remarkably like Earth. They also saw a lot of traffic coming and going, all of it smaller than they were.

It looked like a series of rings. The first group of rings looked like five individual rings that had been built one next to the other. There there were a set of corridors that connected to the next bunch of five followed by another series of corridors then another set of five rings.

It looked like they were working on another secession of corridors.

They kept watching until they didn't seem to be getting any closer. Kate went over to the radar screen. "Castle…it's enormous. A little over 6 miles in diameter if I'm reading this right."

Rick abandoned the view to join her. "There's stuff all over the place." He pointed a finger at all the movement. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." That earned him a glare from Kate, however, she silently agreed.

"I think we've stopped," she commented since nothing seemed to be changing. They weren't getting any closer. "Our friend is still there, though." She pointed him out easily.

They watched the dots flying all over the place or so it seemed. "These guys are definitely out in space," Rick remarked about all the ships they were seeing on radar. "I think this one is coming right at us." He stabbed at the screen, watching it head straight for them. "Or not," since it went past the front of the ship and then the domes. "Or…" He saw it getting closer.

"I think we're about to be boarded." Kate left her screen and reached for her weapon. She checked it and then headed for the door. "You coming, Castle?"

They ran down the main hallway for the only empty airlock they still had. All the others had supply pods attached. "A weapon, really, Kate?" Rick questioned as they came to a stop.

"It's still MY ship," she insisted defensively. He'd learned not to fight her when she was like this so he kept his mouth shut.

They more felt their ship being hit softly than actually hearing it. They watched as the red lights cycled to green and suddenly the door opened. Kate raised her weapon but initially no one showed themselves. Then a man, obviously dressed in armor and carrying a much bigger weapon than Kate had, stepped out. Though he didn't point his like Kate was doing. It was just that he didn't do anything else. He was also wearing a helmet so they couldn't see him, just what he was wearing.

A moment later someone wearing more normal clothes stepped into view. He was thin, dressed nicely though a little oddly, Caucasian, and clean-cut. "If you will come with me, please. You can keep the weapon, if you prefer. You'll simply put a hole in our ship and kill yourselves if you discharge it," he stated in perfect English. "Don't worry about him. It's protocol." He nodded at the heavily armored and armed figure that just stood there.

"Please." He motioned for them to go into the airlock. Kate looked at Rick and watched in disbelief as he started to walk that way. Then she rolled her eyes; of course he would. She kept her weapon and followed him into the airlock, then through a tight tube, and into a space that had a few seats that all faced the same direction.

"Please choose a seat." He selected one and sat down while the man with the armor and weapon went forward and sat on what looked like a fold-out bench.

"You speak English," Kate remarked, somewhat astonished; she hadn't anticipated that he would.

"You've been expected for a few weeks; more than enough time for them to find me. My apologies, I'm Counselor Miles Mikolas. I'm your contact for the time being. Please call me Miles."

"Where are you taking us?" Rick wanted to know that since he really wanted to see that space station.

"To Medical first on the station, as well as me since I've come in contact with you."

"And him?" Kate indicated the big man with the big gun.

"He's safe inside his enclosed suit. He just has to walk through a decontamination station to have his suit cleaned. We'll be detained for a few days until the tests have been completed."

"Tests?" Kate hated hospitals.

"You're from a different planet. Who knows what you have brought with you or what you might be susceptible to. It's for your safety as well as ours. Don't be surprised if you see people in full coverage gear," Miles warned.

"For how long?" Kate was starting to hate what was coming.

"For me, likely 24 hours. For you, two or three days. After that we'll see. You'll probably placed in an apartment under supervision. At that time you will be thoroughly questioned and yes, you can ask your questions then. Just be patient."

They didn't see anything but they did know when they had landed. "If you will hand your weapon over, please." The large fellow with the big gun held out his gloved hand.

"If we wanted you dead, you would be dead. You'll not be needing it." Miles waited patiently for Kate to hand it over. "If you'll follow me, please." He went out the door they came in through and into a plastic tube that lead to another door that he opened.

Inside that door they came across three people all dressed in enclosed suits complete with a clear helmet of some kind. There was what looked like wheelchairs waiting for them.

Rick and Kate watched as he sat in one of the chairs. "Please." He motioned to the other two chairs.

Soon Kate, Rick, and Miles were being wheeled through a door, down a plastic-enclosed corridor, and into a room where the door was then closed. There, they each were handed something and Rick and Kate heard a language they had never heard before.

"You need to step into a separate room, remove your clothing, and put this on. They will start your examination shortly. If you have questions they will send them to me so I can answer them," Miles said and watched them enter a room, followed by him going into his. He began taking off his clothes. "Earthlings." He wasn't happy but it was his job.

Kate was fuming and stewing and waiting in her paper gown that was backless when someone in one of those hazmat suits came in and started using all kinds of devices. He looked into her ears, into her eyes, got her to open her mouth, and even say, "Ahh."

She was handed a pill and a glass of water and watched him demonstrate that he wanted her to swallow it. "What is it?" Kate wasn't just swallowing it.

She saw him take something off the wall and she got the idea that she was supposed to ask her question again. "What is it that he wants me to take?" That was followed by him speaking in a language she didn't understand.

Kate heard Miles's voice come out of the device. "It's a broad spectrum antibiotic. They want to kill anything that you might have." She sighed; she really didn't want to take anything at all. "Get ready to give samples of everything," Miles added and then spoke in an unknown language.

She watched as he put the device back on the wall and stared at her. Kate grumbled then swallowed the damn pill.

Kate found giving blood and skin was pretty painless; she even understood he wanted a urine sample, but then he gave her something else. "What's this for?" Again he used the device on the wall.

"He wants a urine sample and if possible, a stool sample," Miles explained.

"You've got to be kidding me!" This was taking things a little too far.

"You'll be here for another 2 days if you can't provide a sample today."

Kate moaned and stepped into what looked like a bathroom since it looked familiar. She sat on what she took for a toilet and held the damn thing in place. "I HATE HOSPITALS!"

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

She had seen three different people so far. One had done things to her body, one had done an exam on her eyes, and now one was attaching wires to her head. "This better be worth it," Kate complained; he went over to the wall and brought the device to her.

"Where's…my husband." They were engaged, after all. She had said yes and if they could have, they would have been married by now.

"Mr. Castle is having monitors being attached to his head. I wasn't told you two were married." This was new information to him.

Kate held up her hand with her ring on it even though he couldn't see it. "Yes, he is. May I talk to him?" She would feel a whole lot better if she knew he was okay.

"You will be allowed to talk to him after today's tests, I promise." Miles then spoke to the doctor who put the device back on the wall.

So far everything Miles had told them had happened so Kate just sat there with a boatload of wires hooked to her head.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

It was their second day and Kate still hadn't seen Castle. As promised she had been able to talk to him for a short time until the device was taken from her and she was told it was time for her to sleep.

Now she was lying on the examination bed and had wires connected to all parts of her body, or so it seemed. There was even a panel above her that she thought was showing her what they were looking at. She had little medical knowledge or experience, but it sure looked like her body.

Then the person who was looking her over handed her that device. "The doctor has informed me that you are…incapable of having children," Miles said, telling Kate something she already knew.

"I'm sterile, yes. It was the unintended result of an earlier operation." She really didn't want to be reminded that she had been rendered sterile because of that asshole. She had taken every penny his insurance had handed over but it hadn't changed anything.

"The doctor wants to know if you want that to be corrected," Miles relayed.

"WHAT?!" Kate stared at the device. "He can fix me?" She was sure she'd stopped breathing and watched as the doctor that was with her started tapping panels on his screen.

"He states that it will take a couple of hours and require an additional 24 hours of recovery, however yes, he can, as you say, _fix_ you. He wants your approval to proceed. You will need to sign something."

"YES, YES, anything." Kate felt her tears beginning. They were going to fix her. She could have children. Something that had been taken from her years ago.

She saw what looked like a pen being placed in front of her followed by hearing more of their language.

"He wants you to sign on the screen in front of you and they will begin immediately," Miles translated. Kate didn't care where she signed. She lifted the pen and signed her full name. The pen was taken away which was followed by her seeing two more dressed like he was step into her room.

She was still crying when her eyes closed.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

She got to talk with Castle again that night and was aching to tell him that they had repaired the damage that had been done to her. It was just that she wanted to do in in person so that she could kiss him after telling him.

She'd been told to get dressed again then her doctor left. The door opened and Miles, dressed as he'd been when they first met, appeared. "Mrs. Castle, if you'll follow me." At first Kate didn't know who he was talking to. It was the very first time anyone had called her Mrs. Castle. Her face lit up and she smiled as she followed him out of her room.

"CASTLE!" Kate jumped toward him and wrapped her arms around him. She felt her tears beginning. "How do you feel?" She looked him over carefully.

"I think I've run out of samples, but I'm fine." Kate laughed since she knew how he felt.

"If you two will follow me, please." Miles began walking away then paused, waiting for them to catch up.

"Where to now?" Kate wanted to know. "Does this mean we're clear?"

"You two are fine, more than fine." Miles smiled since he knew something that Rick didn't know yet. "I'm taking you to a meeting. We need to decide what happens next."

"That sounds ominous," Rick whispered to Kate who just nodded.

They didn't go far, though they did see what appeared to be other medical personnel. They stepped into what looked like an elevator and watched as Miles pressed a series of buttons and they were off.

It certainly felt like an elevator. It even had music that they took to be elevator music. It eventually stopped and they stepped out into a hallway that didn't look anything like a hospital. They followed him through a pair of double doors across the hall.

A woman they had never seen before spoke a language that neither of them understood. However, they followed him through a door and into what looked like an office with a small seating area.

"Sit where you like," Miles told them; he stepped over to the desk and stood there. Rick took a chair and Kate took the one next to him. Rick got up to move his chair closer and Kate loved that. It had her reaching out to take his hand.

A moment later an older woman walked in. She looked at both of them, went straight to Miles, and spoke to him in the same unknown language.

Miles introduced them. "Richard Castle, Katherine Castle, this is Vice Chancellor Taylor Pruitt. Chancellor, Richard and Katherine from Earth."

Rick and Kate saw her make a gesture. "That was a standard greeting; if you will follow, please," Miles asked and Rick and Kate tried to mimic it.

Vice Chancellor Pruitt stepped over to her desk, leaned against it, and said something in her language. "She is asking you to explain the purpose of your ship in your words." Miles moved away a little.

"Earth finally admitted that they had made a number of errors concerning the planet's environment. Several of our previous leaders were only interested in the short term and the price for that was going to be costly," Kate began and didn't hear Miles say anything.

"After a large conference it was decided that a fleet of ships would be built. It was intended that each ship would represent each nation. However, not all nations could afford to cover the costs associated with the project so a few combined and shared a ship." Kate paused again and Miles still said nothing. She wondered why he wasn't translating.

"It took years to build each ship and then a search for people to man them was undertaken. Thanks to the use of droids to handle some of the maintenance, it was decided that each ship only needed four people. One was selected to maintain the domes that would hold as many sections of nature that was still available," Kate explained and paused again; still Miles was silent.

"We were two years into our eight-year mission. At the end of those eight years each nation would decide on whether to continue the program or scrap it. We were only two years into our mission when two nations decided to end their support of the program even though they would still support their ships until they returned to Earth," Kate continued to explain and Miles said not a word.

"It was a little while after that when a meteor storm of more than 200,000 objects over a 9 hour period hit us. We were located under the rings of one of our gas giants thanks to our supply pod being off course. Once we cleared the rings we found the fleet had been destroyed. We suffered a fair amount of damage." Kate paused again and noticed that Miles just stood there as did the vice chancellor.

"We lost two of our crew members. Leslie was in one of our cargo bays patching a hole when the cargo bay took a large hit. Her husband, Paul, sacrificed himself in our engineering bay that's presently flooded with deadly radiation. We lost a number of our maneuvering jets and were almost stuck in going in a straight line out into space." Kate paused again and nothing changed.

"That was when we noticed something – this station – that was in front of us. We were down to two options: Try and make a slingshot around Neptune and head back to Earth which was problematic or we could go to this station and perhaps fix our ship and then head for Earth." Kate stopped since she was sure they all knew what happened after that.

Rick spoke for the first time. "The domes are all still operational. The lifeforms from Earth are a bit limited due to the size of the domes even if they are large, but each environment has been maintained. To help us, I've converted some of the space to farms to give us fresh produce, more than what we already had." Rick and Kate searched the faces of both of them.

Finally Vice Chancellor Pruitt said something in their language and they watched Miles leave silently. They watched her as she just stood there. Miles came back with two people that were each carrying a large tray. They sat them down in front of Kate and Rick and then they and Miles left.

"Thank you, please help yourself," Pruitt told them in horrible English and then walked out.

"What the hell was that!?" Kate looked at Rick who looked just as lost. Though he did get up to pour himself a glass of water. The other stuff looked a lot like cut fruit and thin slices of meat that didn't look familiar.

"Great! Now what?" Kate sank back into her chair as they heard the door open again.

Kate saw Rick look up. The color drained from his face; his glass and the pitcher fell from his hands and hit the floor. The look on his face was one of complete shock.

Kate turned to look. What she saw was a woman about Rick's age, more or less, standing there. She was dressed in clothes that looked nice but were of a style she had never seen. Kate had to admit that she was lovely but it was her short fiery red hair that had her attention. She also saw the start of tears in her eyes.

"Hi Rick," she said in perfect English.


	10. Chapter 10

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 10**

"Alexis?" Rick barely whispered her name but it was enough for Kate to hear it and it had her looking at the woman again. While she was looking she watched as Rick walked slowly toward her as she walked just as slowly toward him.

"Alexis!" It should have been impossible. Completely impossible.

"Hi!" Alexis scarcely squeaked out. She wrapped her arms around him and let the tears flow.

Kate saw him embrace her in a way that he had never done to anyone other than herself. Kate watched as both just held onto the other and kept crying.

Rick recovered first and placed his hands on either side of her face. "How?" It was easily the greatest day of his life to date.

"I got on the first transport I could find after I found out about you. I've been waiting for two whole damn days for you to be released. I can't believe you're here." Alexis went back in for thirds and hugged him for all she was worth.

"Castle?" Kate was being left out and she was filled with questions.

Both of them looked at her since they shared the name, Castle. "You're Alexis?" She looked a little familiar.

Alexis let go of Rick and reached out for Kate. "And you're Mrs. Castle." Kate shook her hand.

Alexis turned on Rick. "Married, huh?" Alexis grinned at him and they all turned at the sound of the door opening and saw Vice Chancellor Taylor Pruitt come back in.

Suddenly Alexis began speaking in their language and was answered in kind. "You are improving." Pruitt smiled at Alexis.

Alexis smiled at her. "About as much as your English."

"You and they are free to go. Do you know where they are being housed?" Pruitt questioned Alexis in English.

"Yes, Vice Chancellor. Thank you." Alexis gathered up Rick and Kate and went out the door.

Kate stopped Alexis in the hallway. "She understood English all this time?"

"A few do but not many. Learning a new language has been a pain." Alexis rolled her eyes. "Come with me, we have a lot to talk about." Alexis took them to an elevator, down to a main level, and then outside. "This way."

"You're dead," Rick said as they walked.

"Beta unit," Alexis responded.

"A what?" Rick didn't understand.

"They took a DNA sample and made a duplicate of me. But not a live one which is illegal," Alexis explained.

Rick was taken aback at that. "We buried a dummy?"

"Pretty much." Alexis changed the topic. "How's Mom?"

"Mother was doing fine last I talked to her which has been a little while. She had just finished up her last play and was looking forward to the next one when we lost communications," Rick told her. "Where's Dad?" He'd disappeared about the same time as she did.

"Dad's a long way from here. I sent him a message but it'll take him some time to get here."

"So you're an alien?" It wasn't what Rick was expecting but it answered a number of questions.

"Technically yeah, and so are Dad and my birth mother. But Mom is my mother. I was so mad at Dad." Alexis clenched her hands which showed she was still angry with him. "It makes you half alien, by the way."

Hearing that brought Rick up short. "Half alien?"

"Dad's an alien and so's my birth mom. They didn't come steal me and Dad; they recalled him and he dragged me kicking and screaming along with him. I was so ready to shoot him. It's partly why he's a long way from here. I'm still really mad at him." Alexis stepped up her pace and the two of them hustled to catch up to her.

Alexis and they were quiet for a time. "What's that?!" Kate was staring at something headed their way.

Alexis stopped and began to smile. "Think of it as a light rail train, only it flies. Come on!" She broke into a run; they did the same.

They watched it fly down, go past them, and start to slow down before stopping. Alexis was still running so they tried keeping up. Alexis hit the door as it started to close, causing it to open again which allowed Rick and Kate to jump inside. A moment later and they were off. It took off and went up and flew through the air. Rick and Kate were up against the windows as they flew. "Castle, look!" Kate gestured at something to her right.

They both watched as a man fell out of a pool of water only to dive into one below it. Then he swam over and down and dove into another one. Both of them turned to look at Alexis. "Pretty cool, huh? OH! Over there!". They looked outside again. Off to one side they watched two people flying all over the place. Up, down, in circles; they landed, backed up into something, and then ran away. Alexis stepped up behind them. "Jetpacks. You can rent one if you have a license. I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. The other was a public pool that we can go to if you want."

Suddenly they flew past a series of rings. "Look at them, Castle," Kate breathed, awed by their beauty. Rick stared at them until they had gone past them then he turned to Alexis.

"Water colors. You should see them paint them. I've read that they change them every 6 months."

"Not plants?" It looked like plants to him. Alexis shook her head.

"I've never seen buildings like these before; Dubai's close, maybe." Kate was amazed and just kept watching.

Their train came into another station and Alexis got off so they hurried to get off with her.

"Where are we…now?" Kate looked up and her mouth fell open.

"This is their idea of twin towers," Alexis said. "Each is one mile tall."

Rick looked up and up and up. "WOW!"

"Follow me," Alexis told them and moved away.

"So what's next?" Rick asked after he caught up to her with Kate on her other side.

"They… _We_ call ourselves EVE. We're essentially human with a few minor differences. I need to show you something which is where we're going. After that we can find something to eat. I'll warn you, they don't have cows," Alexis teased.

"Flying cars?" Rick inquired after seeing one screaming past in the distance.

"Police. Only public transportation and law enforcement have the ability to fly. Legally, anyway. We're not perfect despite all that you see. We don't have it quite as bad as Earth does but we still have murders, theft, any number of crimes. They do have some changes that might make Earth less dangerous had they adopted them before it became too late." Alexis thought here was better over all.

"What happens to us?" Kate asked. Alexis was obviously one of them and Rick was half of them but she was all Earth.

"I'll get to that but you need to see something first." Alexis kept walking.

"Where are we going?" They did look to be headed for a big building.

"The Planetarium. You need to see before we talk." Alexis just kept moving and took them inside.

Rick and Kate saw her show something to someone who then left them. "This way." Alexis walked down one of the set of stairs to the very center. "Grab hold." They were standing. "Grab hold, trust me." Alexis waited until they grabbed a rail and then activated the device.

The entire room appeared to be replaced with stars. Lots and lots of stars. They zoomed out, way out until they saw something swirling. "This is the Milky Way Galaxy. And no, you haven't left it." Alexis tried to hide her smile.

"So what was that thing? The thing that got us here," Kate questioned.

"It's a jump gate. Faster than light really is impossible," Alexis explained. "However, we've found a way around that. You build a jump gate, then build another one and place all the parts on space ships. Send those ships through the jump gate and then construct the gate on the other end and come home."

Lots of light bulbs went on over Rick and Kate's heads.

"The red light is Earth," Alexis stated, and Rick and Kate looked at the tiny glowing dot. "Earth's located in a minor arm of the spiral about two thirds of the way down. The Milky Way is roughly 100,000 light years wide. Earth is about 25,000 light years from the very center. There are two major arms of the Milky Way and Earth isn't on either of them. We are, though." Alexis turned on another light. "The gold light is us. We're on a major arm and we're also about 25,000 light years from the very center.

"Now all the blinking white lights," Alexis brought those up, "are all of our jump gates."

"HOLY…" Kate's mouth dropped open.

"I have no idea just how many jump gates we own, but I can show you just how much of the Milky Way Galaxy we have control over." Alexis popped up a nice thick blue line that was a little jagged in places. "This is as of about 5 years ago."

"HOLY SHIT!" Rick and Kate almost said it together.

"As of 5 years ago we controlled roughly 32% of the Milky Way Galaxy. Including the arm Earth's located in. I have no idea how many jump gates are presently under construction. But there is a project in the planning phase." Alexis took away the Milky Way Galaxy and brought up a different one.

"This is the Pegasus Galaxy. I do know that a jump gate was constructed there not that long ago. Here." Alexis showed them a blue dot.

Alexis killed the 3D map and brought up the lights. "There's one more thing. Our technology is based off of three very hard to find natural resources. One is Newtronium. Another is Trilithium. The last one is Verterium Cortenide.

"I'll give you one guess what they found where they built the jump gate."

Rick picked one. "Trilieriam whatever you said."

"Trilithium and you're partly correct. They found all three and in large quantities. There's a gas giant that has 14 moons around it. Three of those moons have these resources. Another moon is what Star Trek would call class M."

"What has this got to do with us?" Kate didn't see any connection.

"Planning is already underway. In fact an entire fleet of warships has already passed through the gate to secure that system. The class M moon is rather tiny and mostly water, though it does have land masses. This is where we come in."

"WE?" Rick caught that word and saw Alexis begin smiling.

"Your ship is yours. They will **not** take it from you. However, they want you to man it and take it through the gate after they repair it and maybe upgrade it, with your permission, of course.

"Kate will be the captain. We have advanced in robotics a little more than you and they will be your crew except for Rick. They want him to keep working on in the domes," Alexis started to explain.

"Why?" Kate thought her ship was ancient compared to what they could build. "The _Valley Forge_ is an ancient artifact in contrast to what you can make."

"That may be true but it has something our ships don't." Alexis was hoping they would see it.

"The domes," Rick said since Alexis was including him. "I just don't understand why."

"As I said, the class M moon is kind of small and doesn't have much in the way of land. Until they can build a floating city, that land and your domes are going to be all the land there will be. Save for the moons the miners will be working on in space suits or under pressure domes. I can show you pictures. It isn't pretty but miners make really good money, **really** good money. They and the military on the fleet will want to set foot on dirt once in a while."

Rick was catching up. "So the _Valley Forge_ becomes a port of call where they can get off their ships. But you said **we**."

"I'm going with you or without you. You two have the _Valley Forge_ and I will have the moon." Alexis saw Rick's face brighten.

"I understand why, I guess, but why us – or should I say, why should we?" Kate asked. "Can we ask them to repair our ship, send us back through the gate, and let us go home? I won't talk I promise."

"Two reasons, really. One, because I'm asking, asking my brother to come with me. Another is they'll build you a home after the floating city has finished construction. By that time they'll no longer need your ship and your domes." Alexis looked at both of them and began wishing.

"Build us a home?" Kate queried.

"Pretty much anywhere you want it. Here, there, one of their colonies which is where Dad is or was. Just help them design it and they'll build it," Alexis answered.

"Earth?" Kate asked; Alexis made a face that Kate didn't like.

"That I can't guarantee. Earth doesn't know anything about us and they want to keep it that way. Getting them to build there is going to take a lot." Alexis was pretty sure the answer would be no.

"We may not want to go there anyway, Kate. Remember what they told us. Two ships were recalled and without the fleet, they're more likely to just keep going the way they're going," Rick cautioned.

"Going?" Alexis didn't understand.

He gave her the devastating news. "I'm really sorry, Alexis, but your dream is dead. They're anticipating that the Amazon Rainforest will be down to 20% in a few years. Brazil is one of the nations that recalled their ship."

Her face fell. "How… How do they plan on surviving?" Alexis couldn't believe it.

"They're building massive oxygen generators on coast lines," Rick answered.

"By sucking the oceans dry? Sacrificing their future to turn their Earth into one big concrete ball? …And this is where you want to live?" she almost spat at Kate, not believing that she could want to go back there so badly. Disgusted, she started running up all the stairs to get away.

"Alexis?" Rick wanted to go after her but Kate was standing right there. "She's right, you know. One big concrete ball circling a sun while every breathes air that they had to artificially make until they actually do suck the oceans dry. Maybe not in our lifetime and maybe not in our children's lifetime, but it will happen. Then the Earth truly will be dead." Rick ran up the stairs after his sister.

"Earth is home," Kate murmured brokenheartedly and watched him run as tears started to stream down her face.

Rick caught up to his sister; she was sitting on a bench outside. "Go away, Rick. Your wife doesn't get it." He sat down next to her anyway.

"Kate will come around. …And we aren't actually married yet. I proposed and made a ring for her from this large industrial diamond I found on the ship. With a little bit of help from B2," he confided.

"She loves you, you know. I can see it in her eyes. …And yours. She's a strong-willed woman. You're going back, you just don't know it yet." Alexis knew when she had lost. "You should go get her, I need to take you to where you two are staying before it gets dark. And you both still need to eat." Alexis stood up and hurried away.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"This isn't bad." Rick walked around and looked the place over. Their assigned place was full of clean lines and a little minimalist but it was spotless.

"You're still angry." Kate's heart had fallen ever since she watched him run after his sister who wasn't dead and was actually an alien on another planet.

"No." Rick walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not angry, but she **is** right. Earth's going to be one round piece of concrete soon. Or eventually. The oxygen makers are going to suck the oceans dry and as they do, they're going to build and pour more concrete."

"You **are** angry." Kate pressed herself into him. "Earth is our home. For good or for bad."

"Are you reciting our vows that we still have to take as a reason to go back?" Rick inquired.

Kate looked up at him. "Are you saying you wouldn't?"

Rick looked down at her. "So we're having a fight. I asked you to marry me and even made a ring from almost nothing for you. I'm pointing out that until someone recognizes us as being married, the only people who know are us."

Kate went back to pressing herself into him. "So you're staying then."

"You really are trying to make sure we have a fight. …Fine, let's fight." Rick let go of her and backed away.

"Who am I? Better question, _what am I?_ What am I going to do on a planet that's totally void of plants and animals? You want me to be a concrete hugger? Maybe make trees out of concrete?" If she wanted a fight he was going to give her a fight.

"You don't know it's going to be concrete. That's your sister talking. Your dead alien sister. You fought to keep Earth green, so go back and fight. It's your home." Why couldn't he see that? "Fight for your home, Rick."

"Home… How many places have you lived at all these years? How many different apartments have you lived in? Which one did you call home?" Rick asked sharply.

Kate fought back. "ALL OF THEM! They were all on the same planet."

"Is that your problem? Suddenly Earth isn't top dog anymore. Someone else beat them to it. They only built a gate just at the edge of our system." Was that what the problem was?

"And sent people to our planet. Alexis involved herself in our politics. Tried to force her vision on Earth instead of letting it find its own way," Kate argued fiercely.

"I'm right; you're not mad, you're outraged. You feel invaded and taken over by aliens and want to fight back. King of the mountain. Well, I've got news for you – you're not even on the mountain, let alone king of it, Kate. The universe is a lot bigger than you think it is even after today. You learned a lot today or I thought you had." He strode with purpose to the front door.

"And I'm a tree hugger not a concrete maker." The door shook in its frame as Rick slammed it on his way out.

Kate picked up the first thing she could find, threw it at the door, and stood there, fuming.


	11. Chapter 11

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 11**

Alexis was still yawning when she walked into the station. "Alexis Castle, I'm here for Richard Castle," she told the person at the desk. She handed over the paperwork from the Vice Chancellor's office proving he was there legitimately and was told to wait.

Moments later Rick came walking out and lowered his head when he spotted Alexis, however, he went up to her. "Come on, Rick." Alexis left the station and made sure he was following her.

"The police spotted you wandering around and since you didn't have any ID…" They had picked him up and took him to the station.

"You look pretty much like I did after Dad told me. I take it you two had a fight. You don't want to know how many times I lit into Dad. I ripped him a new one a bunch of times," she confided, hoping it would help.

"Yeah, Kate's got in her head that no matter what happens, Earth is home. The future be damned." Rick threw his arms up in the air and let them drop to his side. "That and I think she's jealous of this place…or worse." He wasn't sure; she had never displayed such flat out bullheaded contrariness like she had before he walked out.

"I kind of understand how she feels, though." Alexis saw the look Rick was giving her. "I was born and raised on Earth, brother of mine. My birth mother died there or have you forgotten?" Alexis walked them up to an almost see-through screen and started pressing buttons. "Three minutes."

"Dad brought you here, which is amazing." He swept his arm across the night skyline. It was almost as pretty at night as it was during the day.

"Kicking and screaming the whole way. …I don't actually live here, you know." Surprised, Rick turned to look at her. "They don't need me here. Take a look around. Where am I supposed to work? And work on what? They do need me on another planet, though. That's where I was when I got the word about you and Kate," Alexis said as she saw their train coming in the distance.

"I hitched a ride through the gate to get here. I've been waiting for two whole stinking days for you two to get out of medical. It was driving me mad." She waved her arms much like Rick had been doing.

Then their train pulled to a stop, the doors opened, and Alexis stepped inside. "Come on, you're staying with me." She watched him tiredly step inside and they waited. The doors whooshed closed and they took off.

Four stops later Alexis guided him into a tower, up a few floors, and over to a door. She unlocked it with the wave of her hand, stepped inside, and closed it behind Rick. "It's not much but the sofa pulls out into a sleeper. Kitchen slash living area; the only bathroom and my bedroom are that way. The balcony's through those doors. I'll find you something for the bed if you want to pull it out." She moved away from him.

Rick walked over to the doors and opened them to step outside. It really was lovely. He could get used to this. But if Alexis was right, what would he do here? "Maybe that's why Kate's resistant, there's nothing for her to do there except babysit some miners or military personnel." Where this place wanted to send them was mostly for him.

"Give me a hand?" Alexis's voice brought him back to the here and now. He turned to help her pull his bed out.

"I didn't go shopping since I've been eating out since I arrived so there's no food in the kitchen. We can find you something else to wear in the morning. Try to get some sleep." Alexis rubbed his arm, feeling sorry for him, and headed to her room.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis was showered and dressed and saw Rick spread out on the sleeper sofa in his boxers, sound asleep. The sight made her smile. "Kind of feels like old times," she whispered and quietly went to the door. "And I'm still so angry with you, Dad." She carefully shut the door behind her and went downstairs.

A train ride and a few stops later, she was outside of a different building. She had given their dad a piece of her mind and she was going to give another piece to someone else this morning.

She pressed the button over and over again until finally the door opened and a disheveled and sleep-deprived Kate opened the door. "Alexis?" She'd had no idea who could be at the door since no one even knew where she was.

"We need to talk and you need to listen." Alexis marched right past her and into the room they'd been given while they were here.

"I'm not really in the mood." Her fight with Rick still weighed heavily on her mind.

"Tough!" Alexis was ready to force Kate to listen if she had to. "So listen up. I'm an alien, I get that. Not that it wasn't a surprise for me, too. It was only after my dad dragged me to this world that he told me that my birth mother was an alien and that so was he." Alexis was pacing because she was so angry.

"I was born and raised on Earth, you know, or have you conveniently forgotten that? I spent years trying to get people to see what they were doing to the planet. That it wasn't too late; that it could be fixed. If and maybe that was the hard part, IF they were willing to make the hard choices. But you know politicians." Alexis paced a little faster.

Kate wanted to get a word in. "Alexis."

" **SHUT. UP.** "Alexis jabbed a finger at her. "Rick, by the looks of it, tried to get my dream to come true even after I was gone. He or some group got those ships built in an attempt to save something. Now that they're gone, so is Earth.

"Don't you get it? We've sucked that planet dry. How long before the oil runs out? How long before all of the natural fresh water is gone? How long before all of the wildlife is gone?

"Human beings are a part of nature, too, you know. We're not robots and we're certainly not GOD.

"Where are the scientists going to get all those new drugs when all the animals and plants are gone? Haven't we learned yet what happens to humans when we screw with nature?

"Ebola, Rabies, HIV, Smallpox, Hantavirus, Influenza, Dengue Fever, Rotavirus, SARS; the list goes on and on. How many are there going to be now?

"To solve one problem they create two more." Alexis was so damn angry.

"You could invade and force fixes on us," Kate suggested; they were going to conquer them in the first place.

"Inva…" Alexis only got more furious. "I've got news for you. My birth mother – not my mother – and my dad and I were the only aliens on Earth. We build gates to explore and expand our knowledge. Knowledge is the real power, not fleets of warships. Earth thinks force is power.

"And yes, we're going to let Earth die. They've even got me trying to research ways of bringing Earth back after all of you are dead. The best I've come up with so far is to make it rain acid until all the concrete's gone, then start terraforming it. Bring in animals and everything else we would need from another planet since everything, probably including bacteria, would be dead.

"DEAD, KATE! Not hurting and suffering and praying for someone to save them. DEAD!"

"You're not…?" Kate whispered.

"Sending in the Marines, which we happen to have a lot of just so you know, and taking over? NO! That's not how this place works. I watched all those movies same as you. Learned to fear aliens that either wanted to conquer us and turn us into slaves, or eat us."

 _To Serve Man… It's a cook book!_

"I'm an alien by birth, otherwise I'm just as human as you are. …As is Rick." Alexis was starting to wind down and calm down.

"I heard all those words when I was on Earth trying to save _MY PLANET!_ Nature lover, tree hugger. Those words were said in hate, meant to be derogatory and insulting. Meant to make me feel bad and stop trying to save the planet, to even save them.

"Then one day along came my dad. He didn't say a word, just dragged me out to a rendezvous site and onto a ship with only the clothes on my back. Off the planet and through that gate." Alexis was slowing down and running out of steam.

"He told me Earth was dead, that I had failed; told me that I was an alien and then went about proving it. _…He left my brother behind. He left my mother behind_ _, t_ _he only mother I had!"_ Kate saw her tears start to fall.

"He took away my _family._ I hate him so much, so very much even to this day." Alexis used the back of her hands to wipe at the tears.

"Earth is dead, Kate. My home is _dead._ They just don't know it yet or are unwilling to acknowledge it. To make the hard choices to save it. There's nothing to go back to. You'd be dooming your children." Alexis saw a look on Kate's face.

"Yeah, they told me that they'd repaired the damage. You're no longer sterile. They didn't even ask you if you could pay for it, did they? They just asked if you wanted to be whole again, didn't they?" Alexis challenged her silence and saw Kate lower her head.

"Did you ever tell Rick that you were sterile or were you going to wait until it was too late? Until he loved you so much that he would do anything for you." Alexis saw the look Kate was giving her.

"I thought not. My brother loves you, enough that he'll probably cave and go back with you. Sit in your concrete box and help you raise your children as you watch them die from CCE or some other damn virus that mankind has brought upon itself because they killed their planet. Sucked it dry of every natural resource it had." Alexis was just about done and ready to leave.

Alexis started for the door and stopped and turned. "You're a racist bigot, Katherine Beckett, even if you don't see yourself as being one. Just don't doom my brother to your fate. He's a good man and could do incredible things on this planet. His knowledge could do so much here. …So could you if you would just wake up. Give your children a future and their children. We're not conquerors, we're explorers. You could explore with us.

"It's too late for Earth, but it's not too late for you. But you're almost out of time. What's it going to be? Go back and die with Earth or build a future here? You're the alien on this world, Kate, not me." Alexis opened the door and closed it behind her, leaving behind a Katherine Beckett filled with questions though she had a lot of answers.

Alexis was a whole lot calmer when she entered her place and found Rick standing out on the balcony. "Like it?" she asked, knowing it was a stupid question since she herself was still amazed by this city.

"What's not to like? It's maybe a little too modern for my taste, but I could get used to this," Rick admitted.

"I don't actually live here, you know. I live on a colony planet. A planet where they need me. It doesn't look anything like this." Alexis huffed out a laugh. "You'd probably like it. Rustic yet charming, with all of the amenities to make life pleasant," she smiled.

"And Dad?" Rick hadn't seen him in years and was told that he'd died with Alexis; they just hadn't been able to find his body.

"Dad's a lot farther out. He's roughing it even to your way of thinking. Cooks over an open fire. No running water. Hunts for his own food. …I think I drove him out there. He made me so angry." Alexis was pretty sure she had forced him out there just to get away from her.

Alexis felt one of his arms wrap around her and pull her in close. She went willingly. "Mom still misses both of you. She refuses to talk about it, but I can tell. Hey, Lexi, where did you go this morning?"

"Promise you won't get mad?" Alexis looked up at him but didn't wait for an answer. "I went to see Kate and gave her a piece of my mind. Almost as much as I gave Dad. You really know how to pick 'em, little brother." She turned her gaze out onto the city.

"Kate is one of a kind," Rick asserted.

"That's one way of putting it," Alexis agreed. "Come on, we can go find breakfast and get you something to wear so that you're not wearing yesterday's clothes. After that we'll have some lunch and then I'll take you back to Kate. You two really need to talk." Alexis walked away and waited for Rick to catch up.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"What's this again?" Rick took another bite.

"It's called Morning Frittata. Just don't ask what's in it," Alexis told him.

"Afraid I'll throw up?" he teased.

"Partly and partly because even after I tell you, you still won't understand. We don't have cows, or chickens, or pigs, or anything else you would recognize. I learned by taste testing tiny bites and then eating what I liked. It took me a while." Alexis smiled and took a healthy bite of hers.

After breakfast they went shopping. "I look ridiculous." Rick was standing in front of a mirror wearing what Alexis had given him. She placed a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"Yeah, not enough tree hugger for you. Stay there and stop making that face." Alexis stepped away and came back a few minutes later. "Try these." She shoved the pile at him and pushed him back toward the changing room.

A few minutes later he came walking back out barefoot to stand in front of the mirror. "Now this is more like it." Rick fiddled with bits and pieces as he smiled at himself.

Alexis went back to hiding her smile behind her hand. "If only you knew, little brother, if only you knew."

"Go back and change into your old clothes so I can buy these and then go home so you can change," Alexis said and soon they were taking another flying train to get home.

"That looks like so much fun." Rick was watching a pair of younger guys using jetpacks and streaking around a pair of women diving from one pool to the next.

"It takes weeks to get a license to use one of those things. Kind of like getting a drivers license. Now for the pool, all we need is to get you a swimsuit. It can be a little disorienting at first, but it's a blast. If Kate's in a better mood later we can try it." Alexis was angry with her but wasn't giving up on her yet, especially because she held her brother's heart.

"Try and talk her into it. Maybe if she learns to like it here, she'll change her mind. Get her in a better frame of mind." Alexis was willing to give it a try.

Rick had cajoled Alexis into taking both of them out for lunch instead of just him. "She needs to see what she's leaving," he'd argued.

Alexis and Rick stopped at her building. "Earth is dead, Rick. You know it and I know it, even if Earth doesn't or is unwilling to admit it. There's no future for either of you there." She did her best to try and think of something that might reach Kate. "Maybe lunch in the middle of Villa Doria will help her see what she won't see on Earth after you go back there."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate still looked a little sour to Alexis but at least she had come. She'd even gone inside and stood in line to place her order. "Weird place." Kate watched as couples left the building carrying what she was sure were old time picnic baskets, complete with a checkered cloth to put on the ground.

"We're lucky they have space. They limit the number of people that can eat here during a 24 hour period," Alexis explained as they waited for their names to be called.

"This way." The redhead took the lead and held the door open for them both. "Down the steps and walk until you find a spot you like." Hair sparking in the sunlight, Alexis followed them this time.

"This is lovely; where are we again?" Kate hadn't been paying attention.

"Villa Doria. It's a park where you can eat lunch on the grass," Alexis replied.

Kate looked around and saw a few couples spread out here and there, all sitting on their checkered cloths with their picnic baskets open, eating, drinking, or just talking. They were all surrounded by tall trees that reached high up into the sky yet were a little on the skinny side.

Kate stopped. "Here?" They didn't have any neighbors yet and they were surrounded by trees. There was a wall of brush in the distance that enclosed the park from the outside.

"Works for me." Rick helped Kate spread out her cloth and then helped Alexis spread hers out which overlapped Kate's a little, followed by his own. "No wine, I forgot the wine." Rick started to walk back to purchase some only to stop and ask Alexis for money.

"I don't even hear anything. No cars, no sirens. I hear the birds and some soft voices in the background." Kate tried to concentrate while Alexis unpacked her basket.

Kate soon found that the food that she had selected for herself – without Alexis's help, thank you very much – was pretty good. "I presume I'm here for a reason?"

Alexis wasn't fond of her choice of words. It meant she hadn't changed much, if any.

"You could have done this on Earth if you'd tried; all you had to do was look. It wouldn't be exactly like this, but similar enough," Alexis responded.

"So the park would be a hardscape park with tables and benches." Kate didn't see where that was that bad.

"Options are a good thing, even the one you just mentioned. But that one will be the only option you'll have. Possibly without the birds chirping. Cooing pigeons, maybe, but no chirping." Alexis painted a somewhat bleak picture.

Kate tried to get her to understand. "I'm a captain of a ship and I worked damned hard to be one. No offense, but I'm not a tree hugger. This is nice but it's not me."

"And yet you married one. You're in love with one. I'm not blind, Kate, I can see the love for my brother in your eyes." Alexis stood up. "Talk to him, ask him if a concrete jungle is where he wants to live. This place has its fair share of concrete as well. It just isn't dominated by it.

"If their offer isn't to your liking, counter with one of your own. One that makes you both happy. We're not dictating how you should live. You were given an offer, take it, ask for changes, or offer one of your own.

"I'm going for a walk. It's been a while since I've been here. I'm not sure when I'll be back again." Alexis walked away, unsure of what the future held for these two: one idiot and one brother that she wanted to fight for.

She did see Rick coming back with a bottle so Kate wouldn't be alone with her thoughts for long. "You two had better start talking or I'm taking him away from you, Kate. Even if I have to steal him like dad did to me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 12**

"So are we back to me being a tree hugger?" Rick began after Alexis was far enough away.

"NO!" It wasn't about that, or at least she didn't want it to be. "Earth is _home_ _,_ Castle, even you can see that."

He couldn't believe her. "So we're back to arguing over a dead planet," he remarked flatly.

"EARTH **ISN'T** DEAD!" Kate yelled. She realized what she just did, covered her mouth with her hand, and looked around, seeing no one.

"We've both lived there all our lives, Kate. What do you think's going to happen when OPEC finally announces that they've almost pumped themselves dry? Do you have any idea how much – even some of the most common things – is made using oil? And I don't mean cooking oil. Which comes from plants that will be dead so there won't be any of that either. No vegetable oil, corn oil, peanut oil.

"The price of gas will soar, as will aviation fuel. Eventually governments will come down on everyone and dictate rationing of a lot of things. Only the select few and the filthy rich will have access to anything. What happens then?" Rick demanded.

"We'll find answers, we always have," Kate maintained.

"And this is where you want to raise a family? If you even want one." They hadn't talked about having kids yet.

"She told you!" Kate was ready to choke Alexis for shooting her mouth off.

"Told me what? Who told me?" Rick looked at her, not understanding what she was talking about.

Kate saw his face and her sudden anger melted away. "She didn't tell you." She had opened her own big mouth.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rick didn't understand.

She took the _rip the band-aid off_ approach. "I couldn't have kids until these people fixed me."

"Sterile, you're telling me you're sterile. …And you didn't think that was something I should know about?" Upset and hurt, Rick got up and started pacing.

"I told you I was in an accident. You've seen my scar." Kate even lifted her top a little to try and expose it.

Incredulous, he stopped and stared at her. "And that's supposed to lead me to the fact that you're sterile and not tell me? I don't read minds, Kate. I'm not that much of an alien." He went back to pacing.

Kate groaned, pulling her knees up into herself and hugging her legs. "I'm sorry. I thought of it as my burden that no one else needed to know about. All you really needed to know was that to go on this mission I had to have my tubes tied to prevent pregnancy."

"And when the mission was over? We what, go our separate ways because you couldn't get them untied?" Rick paced even faster. Kate kept her lips pressed together.

"Any other life-altering issues you want to tell me about? You have two hearts and can regenerate each time you die?" Rick inquired, using one of his coping mechanisms.

Kate smiled. "Nothing like that."

"So is my being half alien an issue? Because trust me, until we came here I had no idea." Rick waved his hand in a cutting fashion.

"Apparently I'm the alien here," Kate said.

"Kate?" She hadn't answered his question.

"You're human enough for me, Castle." She actually didn't have that much of a problem with it.

"Good, because I'm not interested in a race change like a sex change." Rick smiled and listened to Kate laugh. "You can't read my mind? There are no super powers that you're hiding from me? Your blood isn't green or looks like Pepto-Bismol?"

That had Kate smiling a little wider and she chuckled a little. "No."

"You had a boyfriend that could give you thirty orgasms and you're trying to spare my feelings," he tried.

Her smile grew wider. "Definitely not. …Just you." She was still amazed at what he could do. She'd been sure what he got her to do was an impossibility.

Rick tried another. "You're not married to someone else?"

She was still smiling. "No."

His face suddenly serious, he asked her, "Would you marry me here?"

That had Kate looking up at him to search his eyes. "You'd…?" Even after – or was it during – their first big fight, he was still willing to officially marry her. "Yes!" Kate kept her eyes on him.

Rick bent down to look at her. "So what will it take to accept their offer? There isn't going to be anything on Earth, Kate. Eventually fuel's going to be hard to get so space flight will die. I'd be amazed if they sent us all out for another eight years. Just think what it takes to supply us every two years. Besides it not being Earth, what's wrong with it?" He truly wanted to know. What was she really thinking?

"It might be great for you. I get my ship back but it doesn't go anywhere. It's just going to sit there and become an amusement ride or a museum. I'm a captain, Castle! I worked hard for that." If she went, she saw her career as being over. At her age she might as well retire and take a pension and Social Security check.

"So fight for that. Ask them to amend their offer to something that you **can** accept," Rick suggested and stayed on the balls of his feet. "Did you stop listening to where they want to send us?" Had she tuned it all out and not heard them?

"The Pegasus Galaxy. So far away I can't even contemplate that." Rick finally smiled. Kate actually had been listening.

"Ask them… Tell them that you want off the _Valley Forge_ on occasion to do some exploring. Be a member of a ship's crew. Go see things that you were never going to see if you were on Earth. Especially an Earth that'll be challenged just to get into orbit in the not too distant future. Tell them what you want. It might take further education, working your way up the ranks until you're the captain of your own ship." He was offering ways to a future she had obviously not thought about.

"I'm betting none of their ships need to worry about meteor storms." Rick added that thought as well.

"Join the military." Kate hated that idea instantly.

"Who said anything about military? You remember the number of ships on our radar when we got here. You saw the ships that were docked where they took us." Rick looked up at the sky. "I still can't believe what they have up there. As big as it is and they're going to make it bigger." He began shaking his head.

"I wonder if they have a Death Star?" he asked, half-joking.

"They actually laughed at me when I mentioned that." Alexis's voice suddenly announced that she'd rejoined them. "The ability to destroy a planet in one shot. They wanted to know why anyone would be stupid enough to do such a thing."

"I can go for another walk." Alexis waved her hand out into the park. Her question had Rick looking at Kate.

"No. …But can we talk?" Kate looked up at Alexis.

Alexis raised her arm and pressed something on her wrist. "Vice Chancellor Pruitt, please."

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I have someone that wants to talk to you," Alexis told her.

They all heard nothing for a bit. "My office, tomorrow 9:00 am. All three of you. Where are you now?" she asked, catching Alexis a little off guard.

"We're having lunch in Villa Doria," Alexis informed her.

"Nice place. I haven't been there in years. I may have to have a talk with my husband. Have you taken them to Millennial View yet?" she asked and didn't wait for an answer. "I'll have three tickets waiting for you. You can use them after our meeting. The food and the view are amazing. Tomorrow, 9:00 am." She killed the call.

"Millennial View?" Rick queried. "What's that?"

"Top floor of one of the twin towers. Up there." Alexis pointed to the towers that they could see in the distance. "You should see what it takes to get that high up." They were in for an eye-opener.

"You've been there?" he questioned.

"Just once and it was only to look." Alexis tilted her head to one side and the other for a bit. "Partly to see if I could throw Dad off of it." She smiled to show she was teasing.

"Is he coming?" Rick hadn't seen him in years and was sort of looking forward to it.

Alexis lost her smile. "I sent him something. Dad gets here tomorrow evening. Just in time for dinner. I promise not to shoot him until you've had a chance to talk with him." She crossed her heart.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate was wearing one of the sexiest bikinis she'd ever seen and she was still trying to figure out what had possessed her to select it. She hadn't even questioned how much it had cost Alexis, though she hadn't batted an eye at the cost.

"You just jump and swim?" Kate looked down into the pool below her and knew that there were three more pools below this one.

"If that's all you want to do, yes. If you dive toward the bottom you'll eventually reach a point where you can't come back up and you'll fall through to dive into the next one," Alexis advised both of them even though Rick wasn't asking any questions.

"See that guy in the building over there?" Alexis pointed at him and both turned to look. "He's the lifeguard. Each pool has several cameras. If for whatever reason he thinks someone's in trouble he starts diving until he reaches you. Before you even know what's happening, you'll find yourself in a bubble, floating in the pool. It's perfectly safe and amazingly cool." She just winked and jumped in.

Kate watched her swim a little and then intentionally dive toward the bottom. She saw her fall out the bottom and dive perfectly into the next one.

"Everyone into the pyool," Rick announced and pushed Kate in; she gave a quick yelp before hitting the water.

Kate waited for Rick to come back up after jumping in and splashing him while laughing at him. She dove to get away from his retaliation and suddenly found herself falling out the bottom and hit the water on her back.

Kate swam a little and then dove and started playing just when it happened. She watched Rick flailing his hands and screaming as he fell out the bottom of the pool above. The sight had her laughing and splashing him and then diving for the pool below.

This time she did a perfect dive. She came back up and found Alexis just messing around. "How do we do that again?" Kate was in and saw Alexis point to a bank of clear tubes.

She climbed out, went over to the tubes, and turned to look at Alexis. "Just step into one," Alexis told her.

"Step in." Kate looked upward and saw the tube go straight up. She stepped in and turned around. Then she started screaming as she was launched up the tube. In just a few moments, she stopped and then stepped out.

"This is SO cool." Kate ran for the pool and in seconds she was back to the bottom where Rick and Alexis were just swimming around.

"Come on, babe, you have got to try this." Kate pulled him to the edge and waited for him to climb out. Then she pushed him into one of the tubes and listened to him scream his way to the top. Grinning wide, she stepped in, turned around, and up she went.

Both of them were still in the top pool when Alexis joined them. "Are they going to have one of these on this moon of yours?" Kate asked Alexis. That had Rick smiling since Kate was actually talking about going.

"I don't actually know. You can ask Vice Chancellor Pruitt tomorrow. She doesn't bite. They do have to keep everyone happy that goes there, so who knows. I know it's two-thirds water with two islands, both of which have any number of trees and damn little of beach. Ask them to build you a cottage on one of them. Ask her. There's an old saying: You don't win if you don't play."

"You won't win even if you do play," Kate countered.

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "And you married her, little brother?" She dove for the pool below to avoid Kate's retaliation.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate felt like a prune by the time they finally left. "I want one of those." She was smiling widely as they walked away. "So what's next?" She was in a really good mood.

"You should probably know everything before you commit to staying. This way; I'll get you as close as I can." Alexis headed for a train and had to wait for one to show up.

They all just stood there and watched as they left the city. "Where are we going? Another city?" Kate inquired; she was betting there had to be more than one.

"In a manner of speaking. You'll see." Alexis chose to leave them guessing.

"We get off here." Alexis stepped out after the train stopped. "This way." A flying police car with its lights flashing and siren blasting zoomed past them.

"So you do have crime," Kate commented, intentionally pointing out a bad thing to Alexis and Rick.

"I never said we were perfect, just more advanced technologically. There haven't been wars here in generations. There is the occasional murder, theft, domestic problem. Sometimes an occasional race problem but they're few and far between. The officer might be responding to anything," Alexis said defensively. She liked her new home.

Kate thought back and hadn't really noticed that there were people of color and different ethnicities until now she was forced to think about it.

"Over here," Alexis waved as Kate had stopped to think.

"Where are we?" Kate looked out over the railing and down into an extremely large valley near the edge of an ocean.

"This is Fort McNamara. It's a military space port," Alexis explained.

"Those are military ships?" Kate gestured to a bunch of them all sitting at what would be called docks.

"Those are all destroyers of various types. They're small enough to be built on a planet. All the others are built out in space."

"Space ships, not seafaring ships?" Kate asked. They were on the coast, after all, and those ships looked to be on water.

"We don't have a sea navy. We don't need one. This is 1 of 8 bases on this planet alone."

"So you do have a military," Kate said triumphantly since it didn't make this place any different than Earth in that regard.

"Yep, a big one, actually. There's already a complete fleet of warships where we're going. Those moons are beyond important to our technology," Alexis admitted. "Go ahead, ask. I didn't create the military and I brought you here so you could learn, so ask. If I know, I'll tell you or you can save your questions for tomorrow."

Kate tilted her head. "Okay, so how many ships?"

"There are presently 16 fleets in total that I know of. One is based here. Others share systems while one's where we are going. I think each fleet has ships much like Earth navy has. Each has 80 to 90 of these destroyers and another 20 to 30 cruisers, a minimum of 11 battleships and another 11 carriers. Each carrier, I think, holds 80 ships of different types. Plus each fleet holds a number of scouts of various capabilities. I don't actually know how many. Think of them as a cross between patrol boats and submarines if that helps.

"Military personnel number in the millions. EVE itself numbers in the billions. We have explored and can claim jurisdiction over a fair amount of the Milky Way." Alexis could see the reason for the number.

"If you have something this big I'm guessing that you have reason for it if as you say, you're not conquerors," Kate challenged, sure that she'd caught her in a lie.

"We explore and not all places we explore are like Earth. Though, some are like Earth and see us or anyone else as a threat and are only too willing to fight us. Fights have happened or are happening." Alexis wasn't hiding anything. "I have a question for you. The gate we have near Sol system. How did you find it?"

"It showed up on our radar." Kate thought that was obvious.

"Hm, and did you ever actually see it?" Alexis inquired; Kate remained silent. "I'm betting that you didn't and if you did see it on radar, it was because they allowed you to see it. Earth radar is too primitive and can easily be defeated. If that gate didn't want to be found you wouldn't have." Alexis knew that much.

"Then why?" Rick asked. They could have just let them try and possibly fail their slingshot or just gone out into deep space.

"That I don't know. Ask Vice Chancellor Pruitt tomorrow. She might know. I do know that they didn't have to help you. I'm betting they actually sent you here. The gate isn't always active 24 hours a day. You could have gone right through it and possibly never have even known it." Alexis knew they were really large and had to be to get their big ships through them.

"It did turn itself so that we went right down the middle." Rick had been there. "Four big arcs or columns with what we were betting was a garrison on two of them. There was this very bright enormous glow between the arcs."

"That sounds about right. Like I said, they didn't have to do anything. What happened after you came out the other side?" Alexis queried since she didn't know.

"A space tug used rays of light and brought us here," Rick responded.

"It took us 2 years and it took him just days." Kate was still impressed.

"You want to be a captain, talk to her. Tell her what it takes to get your help. They must want you or they would have just left you alone. Those same lights are at each gate. Meant to help crippled ships through the gate. …Or push others away," Alexis said pointedly.

She glanced at her brother and his almost wife. "I offered to buy dinner," Alexis reminded them. She thought they were done there so they went back to the train station.

"Do you always use that panel?" Kate questioned.

"It lets the system know there's someone here that wants on. Otherwise the train will just pass this stop by and never come down here to get us. It's not like back on Earth. Those stopped at every station no matter what. If you don't ask to get off or get on, you don't." Alexis began pressing panels and they waited until they saw a flying train coming down to stop and collect them.

They were the only ones to get on and no one got off.


	13. Chapter 13

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 13**

Alexis had insisted that she come get them so that they didn't get lost. "Are you two ready?" Kate had answered the door and Alexis saw Rick not far behind her.

"Hopefully." Kate knew today was going to change all of their lives and wasn't sure she was ready for that.

One train ride – which Kate still hadn't bothered to see how boarding it was done – came and went. Now they were in an elevator and she was starting to get nervous. It was beginning to feel like when she had applied to be captain of the _Valley Forge_ which got her to this point.

"You can go in. She will join you shortly," the woman at the front told them and motioned to the door.

Going in, none of them saw anything different. Kate let out a big breath and felt Rick bump her which had her smiling. They took their seats and waited somewhat nervously.

A minute or two later Vice Chancellor Pruitt entered through a different door. She waved her hand. "No need to get up." She took the unused chair and sat down.

"You three have had a chance to think over the proposal, I trust. So what questions can I answer?" Pruitt looked at all three of them.

Alexis began with her question, hoping it would encourage Kate to ask hers. "Is there a schedule? When do we leave? The offer was rather vague on that point."

"We're still gathering people, some of whom are arriving today. We also need official authority to make revisions to the _Valley Forge."_ Pruitt stood and retrieved a folder from her desk.

"According to our engineer's survey, there's still a large hole in the side of your ship. While you have patched and made more permanent repairs to other holes, we would like to make more extensive repairs. It also appears that your engineering bay is filled with radiation. The team also noticed a dead body in that bay. I'm assuming you would like the body back so that you can care for it as you see fit." Pruitt was stopped by Kate.

"We held a funeral not long after, but yes, that would be nice. Thank you." Kate really was thankful for that opportunity.

"According to this you have a great deal of food on board along with dried foods, canned goods, and other items stacked up in the main hallway that runs the length of your ship. And may I ask the reason for the nuclear devices under each dome?" She had been surprised by that.

Rick groaned. "The governments that represented each ship required that they be installed. In the event that a government decided to end their support of the project, they wanted the ability to eject each pod and destroy them prior to reaching Earth." He hung his head.

"Two nations had already exited the project just about 2 years in. They were ordered to do just that on their return trip," Kate added.

"We will be removing those if you agree to the offer. We can't have an accidental detonation destroying the domes," Pruitt informed them.

Kate spoke up. "May I ask why you want the _Valley Forge_ and the domes? The _Valley Forge_ is an ancient artifact compared to what you can build."

"The technology of your ship is old, I will grant you that. However those domes are or possibly will be the last of nature from Earth. That alone makes it valuable. We could, I suppose, remove the domes, build a more advanced ship, and reattach them. But we have a time constraint. Plus we believe that people will be interested in seeing Earth's nature and perhaps partake of the food from your planet. It might be a welcome change," Pruitt asserted

"And walk in an ancient ship, see how it used to be." Kate had thought her ship was state-of-the-art until she got here.

"When your ship's no longer needed it may some day make to a museum, that's true. No offense intended." Pruitt didn't want to insult them.

Kate shook her head. "None taken."

Alexis gave Kate an opening. "They have some amendments to the offer they would like to request."

"Is it possible for us to have one of those series of pools added to one of your islands on this moon?" Kate had had a blast and she'd been the happiest there since arriving on this planet.

Pruitt picked up and made a note on her data pad. "Anything else?" That couldn't be the only thing. Then she noticed that Rick had placed his hand on Kate's leg. The Vice Chancellor raised an eyebrow.

Kate drew a deep breath. "I'm a captain of a space ship. I worked really hard for that job. What you're offering is little more than a curator of a museum. If I understand it correctly the _Valley Forge_ would be placed in orbit and never move again. You don't need me for that."

Pruitt made another note. "Is there more?"

"For them to get from the moon to their ship and back down, they're going to need a shuttle," Alexis suggested. "And know how to fly it," she added.

Pruitt actually smiled a little quickly and made a notation. "Anything else?"

"Vacation? Time off work and the ability to go somewhere to take time off of work?" Rick didn't dare ask for holidays off since he wasn't sure if these people even had any.

Pruitt made yet another note. "Any more requests?"

Alexis decided it was now or never. "I want my mother. Not my birth mother since she's dead. I mean my mother on Earth. I want you to send a ship, pick her up, and bring her here. She could star in any number of Earth plays. Expand our culture." Pruitt fixed her with a stare and yet she made a note.

The Vice Chancellor leaned forward and pressed a button. "Melissa, would you come in here and bring your data pad with you, please?" Pruitt sat back and a moment later the young woman who had been sitting out front walked in.

"I need to meet with the construction designers for the moons. Coordinate our schedules and get me a meeting," Pruitt said which had Kate starting to smile.

"I also need to talk with Admiral Gains of the 8th Fleet in the Pegasus Galaxy. Coordinate our schedules and place a call for me." Pruitt looked at her notes.

"Contact Fort McNamara and talk with the base captain. We need to arrange for these three to take shuttle training while their ship, the _Valley Forge_ _,_ undergoes modifications and improvements. Then coordinate our schedules; I need to talk with him. We need to send a cloak-capable ship to Earth to pick up an Earth human and bring her here." Pruitt saw Rick and Alexis begin to glow with a quiet joy.

"How long will the remodel and making improvements of the _Valley Forge_ take?" The Vice Chancellor's question had Melissa reading her pad instead of writing notes on it.

"The head of the maintenance yard is anticipating that it will take him 6 weeks. He has a rather extensive list that he wants to do. He wants to enhance the domes to protect them. He wants to change out the entire damaged system. Clean up the engineering bay. Alter the existing droids so that they are more capable and expand their memory cores. He has to repair the giant hole in its side. He's not impressed with the secondary power system and wants to replace all of it. He wants to place their freezers and kitchen on that same new system. Then he wants to just do a general cleanup. He's given a price that I will forward to your pad."

"You can clean up lethal radiation?" Kate hadn't heard anything about it being impossible.

Melissa nodded then said, "It will take him longer to replace the hole in your hull than to clean the engineering bay."

Kate spent the next few seconds looking between Melissa and Pruitt until her gaze stopped on Pruitt.

Pruitt cleared her throat. "Melissa, when's Jackson Hunt scheduled to arrive?"

Alexis's eyes opened wide. "DAD'S COMING _HERE!?"_ This was news to her and not good news.

"Dad?" Rick looked at Alexis.

"He reverted to his original name; I chose to keep the name I was born with. Why the hell is he coming here?" Alexis glared at Pruitt and wanted to see her daggers produce blood.

"He's going to be added as a private scout in the Pegasus system. He's also going to teach the three of you how to fly a shuttle. After he gets here we'll discuss having him add Katherine to his crew so that she can get out into space and accompany him on some of his scouting missions. He'll teach her how to use, repair, and fly that type of ship so that some day in the future she can become a general contractor like he is and do the work he is doing." Pruitt looked at Kate. "Unless you would prefer to join the military?" Kate shook her head.

The Vice Chancellor turned her attention to Alexis. "Is that going to be a problem? I'm aware of your history with your father."

Alexis growled. "I'll be doing my work on the moons. He'll be out in space with Kate. I promise not to shoot him. I don't promise that I won't break something. A leg, arm, neck, back, head." It was the best she was willing to offer.

Rick's eyebrows shot up. "Alexis!"

"You weren't there, Rick. One day I'm working on saving all the nature on Earth and the next I'm in space. He took me away from you, away from Mother, away from my home. Yes, I'm still mad at him and no, I don't promise that I won't break something for what he did. One day I had a family and the next I had nothing." Alexis got up and stormed out the door she'd entered through.

"She'll be back." Pruitt was pretty sure she would. Still it had Rick getting up to follow her. She was his sister but he was actually looking forward to seeing his dad again.

"Every project has its hills to overcome," Pruitt murmured.

"You mean mountains," Kate smiled; Pruitt rolled her eyes.

"This is all small compared to getting the military to send a fleet to the Pegasus Galaxy and that was even AFTER what was found there," she confided. "That will be all, Melissa."

Her aide nodded and left the room. "I should have scheduled this meeting for later in the day," Pruitt sighed. "I could really use a drink." It was not going how she'd hoped.

"There's a saying on Earth, 'It's 5 o'clock somewhere.' Meaning you can drink when you want to," Kate said.

"I like your way of thinking." Pruitt got up, took two wine glasses out of a cupboard, and set them on her desk. Then she opened a hidden refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine. "Care to join me? I shouldn't be drinking alone." She raised the bottle toward Kate.

"I'd love one." Kate joined her and took the offered glass. She looked down briefly, studying the pattern in the rug. "You don't look surprised at all that was asked."

"I'm good at my job. Plus Jackson warned me what Alexis's reaction would be. He's looking forward to seeing his son, though. It wasn't his idea to leave him and his wife behind," she confided. "I wasn't involved in that decision, by the way."

"You're actually going to do all that we asked for?" Kate took a sip of her wine and found that she liked it. "This is very good."

"Thanks. You didn't ask for anything we couldn't provide. You didn't even ask about a home on one of the moons. Which the four of you are getting. You'll have to share, though. Alexis and Jackson gave us the parameters of what you would like." She took a drink.

She saw the look Kate was giving her. "You didn't think we were going to ask you to live on your ship, did you?"

"I did actually, yes. We've lived 2 years on her and we had another 4 to 6 years to go. We knew that going in. …Thanks." Kate was surprised.

"If you come up with anything else just tell Melissa. These moons mean a lot to us. I'm assuming that Alexis explained their importance to us."

Kate shrugged. "She did to a point. She just told us that the metals or whatever they are, are essential to your technology."

"You've seen our trains?" Pruitt inquired; Kate nodded. "Our diving pools, our ships, both military and civilian. The twin towers that you're going to see later today. Any number of things that you might've seen or haven't yet. The gate that got you here. Those minerals are vital to our economy, our defense, and our ability to explore. We wouldn't be who we are without them."

"And you're not going to help Earth?" Kate would ask for that if she thought for a moment that they would.

"No. I'm sorry, but no. Your Earth isn't the only planet that we've encountered that we're simply ignoring. Letting their future unfold before them based on the choices that they made.

"We are _not_ conquerors and we're also not saviors for civilizations that have a history of repeatedly making bad choices. We are explorers. We sent a team to Earth for them to gather information."

Kate repeated what Alexis had told her. "Information is power."

"Correct. What we hadn't planned was for Jackson's wife to die almost immediately after arriving there with their small family. We also hadn't planned for him to miss her so much that he destroyed the communications equipment that had been sent with him.

"My predecessor made a choice and sent a team to extract the EVE members of his family. That meant leaving Richard and Martha behind since they weren't EVE. It has taken me a few years to change that way of thinking."

Kate's eyes widened and she blurted, "You were already planning on going back to get Rick and his mother! No wonder you agreed so quickly."

"You're quick and, yes. A plan to go get both of them is already in the works. All that was really needed was for either Jackson or Alexis to ask us. I was originally thinking of having Jackson to lead the extraction. But you need to be trained; I'm betting that Jackson will accept you and he needs to get used to you for that to happen. So he has to be here to accomplish that.

"Let me know if there's anything else you need. We want those moons." The Vice Chancellor escorted Kate over to the door after taking her glass. "Where did they go, Melissa?"

Alexis's voice came in through the doors that led out. "I promise not to kill him, little brother."

"Give Kate the passes they'll need. Kate, it has been a pleasure talking with you. Have a nice visit, I think you'll like it." Pruitt bowed slightly and went back into her office.

Melissa handed Kate three passes and watched the Earth woman go out the door to join the other two.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis took Rick and Kate back to the store where Rick had gotten his clothes so that Kate could pick out a few things since they were all going to be staying there for 6 weeks.

"I'll be back to pick you up and take you to the towers for our dinner. I didn't come with much so I need to go home and change." Alexis lifted the bags that held the clothes she had bought for herself.

"Can you afford all this?" Kate didn't want her going broke buying them clothes.

"It would have stretched my budget a bit, however, Melissa didn't just hand you three passes, she also slipped in a payment card. You verbally accepted their offer so you got an advance on your pay. I used that. You'll sign your life away later after they finish making the changes to it that you requested.

"I'll be back at 6:00; until then you two are on your own. …Which reminds me, I should contact Melissa about getting you two some ID cards. Unless you want to be taken to the police station again, brother of mine." Alexis smiled widely as she closed the door on her way out.

Kate turned on Rick. "You got picked up by the police?"

"I… I mean, you… I was wandering around aimlessly and suddenly I was in a flying police car because I didn't have any ID. Alexis came and got me." Rick's entire body curved in on itself and he just stood there.

Kate's face flushed. She'd been the cause of it, she was sure of it. She stepped into him and wrapped her arms around his body. "I'm sorry. I just saw my life's work blowing up in front of me and Earth is home. You and Alexis were born there so it's your home, too."

Rick pulled her closer. "We brought Earth with us, love. We've got a computer filled with Earth data, we have Earth movies, domes filled with Earth dirt and it isn't gone just yet. Maybe they'll let us go there for a quick visit. Get more movies or something. Especially when you have your own ship."

"My own ship. I foresee a lot of classes in my future before that happens. The _Valley Forge_ is an antique compared to what these people can build." She let herself melt into him a little.

"Nothing you can't handle." Rick kissed her head.

Kate spoke into his chest. "Rick?"

He looked down at her. She rarely ever called him by his first name. "Hmm?"

"Make love to me? I need you." Kate had thought about it and they hadn't had sex since they got here. Then they had a fight and she was beyond horny.

She squealed as Rick picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick and Kate were both looking around in amazement and this was just the lobby of the twin towers.

"You two are going to love this." Alexis took them to a security check point area, showed them their passes, and walked through.

"No metal detectors, body scanners?" Kate questioned softly as Alexis pressed a button.

"You just did," Alexis answered, watching the door open. They actually had a few more people behind them now.

Alexis, Rick, and Kate stepped inside and turned around. Alexis pressed the top button. The doors closed and nothing happened.

"Great, it's broken." Kate just knew their luck had to change sometime.

"We have to take on the other passengers. This isn't a single car elevator. There are actually four cars with three of them below us. We went up a little so the next car could take on passengers and so on. Get ready." Alexis spun around getting the others to do the same.

Suddenly there was daylight and they were going up. Really, really fast.

"HOLY SHIT!" Kate clapped a hand over her mouth while Alexis just watched.

Then their car stopped and the door opened. "Follow me." Alexis exited, walked across the foyer, and pressed a button.

Kate looked behind her and saw people getting out followed by more people exiting through the same door. They all walked up and stood behind them.

"This one isn't outside." It was the one part that had bummed Alexis out the first time she had done this. The elevator was the same; it just didn't have glass walls this time. The final ride to the top did, though, as they stepped out into the lobby to walk over to the entrance to the restaurant.


	14. Chapter 14

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 14**

Rick was pacing; Kate was quietly standing there watching him, smiling, while Alexis stood off to one side, silently fuming.

They were all waiting for a ship to land. Rick had been hopeful when Kate had asked Alexis if they were going up to their station to meet him. She'd shook her head and dashed both of their hopes.

"Not to worry; we'll all be spending almost a day there before boarding your ship that will be taken to the gate." Alexis almost instantly revived their smiles. "Or not." She honestly didn't know.

In moments they all watched as a ship landed and people started getting out. Alexis saw him first. She hung her head and remembered her promise not to kill him.

Jackson wasn't really looking forward to this. Yes, he'd been told who would be waiting for him and he was expecting to be shot, hung, drawn and quartered; maybe all that after they made him suffer.

He saw Alexis first and she didn't look happy. Then he finally saw his son and a lot of his fears left him. Richard was standing there. A little older and maybe a little taller; there was a lovely woman rubbing his arm since he looked tense. He'd been told that he was married and was guessing that was her.

Jackson took in a deep breath and began walking again. Then Rick saw him and became a statue. Kate felt him stiffen and tried to look where he was looking until she saw someone that he resembled. The man she saw was a lot more gray but not really old, not yet.

Rick was still staring at him as he walked right up to him. No matter what any of them did he knew he deserved it. "Hello, Son."

Jackson cringed the second he saw Rick move but he wasn't expecting to be hugged so tightly or to hear him sniffling in his ear. Jackson recovered and wrapped his arms around him and patted his back.

Rick started to recover; he let go of him and looked at him. "WHAT THE HELL, DAD!"

Jackson finally got the reception he was expecting. He tried to defend himself. "It wasn't my idea. I even destroyed all of our communication equipment after April died. It left me alone with a small baby until I met Martha and you quickly followed. Then someone found me and Alexis and the next thing I knew, we were on a ship headed for the gate. All we had were the clothes on our back. They kept telling me it was orders."

"REALLY? The one time you actually follow orders is the one that destroys our family. You at least remembered this place. I got dumped in the middle of nowhere, Dad. They didn't even speak English." Alexis waved her hands and walked away, still mad at him.

Jackson groaned and deflated. "She's right. I broke every law to keep us on Earth and then I didn't do anything to try and stop them. I did get her a tutor to teach her the local language, I even called in every favor I had to get her a job. I spent weeks talking to the people that ordered us here. I finally gave up and got lost." He looked at Rick and tried to gauge his reaction. "I suppose you hate me, too. Not that I blame you."

"My sister was dead; we found a body and buried her. You, you were simply gone. Mom thought you had run off to grieve. It was just that you never came back." Yeah, Rick was mad at him, too.

"I'm sorry. I don't really know what else to say. Your sister's right, I should have fought and I didn't for once." Jackson sighed. "You must be Katherine!" He moved in and hugged her, getting a hug in return. He let go of her. "Out of the two of you I thought sure Alexis would be married first and then we ended up here." Jackson couldn't believe it and then he reached for Kate's hand. "And look at the size of that rock!" He knew his diamonds and this one was a big one, around 3 carats.

"Rick made it for me." Kate was proud of him and loved her ring.

"YOU made this?" He thought his son was a tree hugger not a diamond cutter, but what did he know anymore.

"I proposed on the ship and she said yes. I used an industrial diamond we had on board and made it for her. With a little help from B2," Rick admitted while he smiled.

"You married on your ship. So no one has actually officially recognized your marriage." Jackson saw Kate shake her head. "We're so fixing that! The details are different here but it's still a ceremony. Alexis hasn't done anything about this?" He couldn't believe his own daughter. She was mad at him, not them.

Rick bristled and defended his sister. "We _have_ been rather busy since we got here."

"And we spent almost three days in medical after our arrival," Kate added.

"Go find your sister. Katherine and I need to talk about this wedding." Jackson wrapped an arm around her and couldn't wait to get started.

Rick began to walk away but paused for a moment. "OH, they've agreed to bring Mom here." With that, he left.

Jackson stood there gaping at him as his mind tried to process what he'd said.

"We don't know when but she did tell her aide to make a call to some admiral and arrange for a cloak-capable ship to go get her." Kate hoped she got it right.

Jackson was still standing there, staring at nothing. "They agreed to bring Martha here." He shook his head. "Let's go, we have two weddings to plan." Jackson took hold of Kate and started walking only to suddenly stop. "I suppose we should wait for my son and daughter."

They saw Rick return with Alexis. "Did they tell you they were bringing Martha here?" Jackson asked, looking at Alexis.

"Of course, I made it a stipulation for them to get my help," Alexis stated and suddenly found herself being hugged tightly by her dad. She didn't want to admit it but it felt great.

Jackson released her. "I know you're still mad at me, but thank you. I don't know how you did it, but thanks. Then he turned to Kate. "You said she." His brow furrowed, he looked at Alexis. "Is Hanson not in charge any longer?"

Alexis stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "Vice Chancellor Taylor Pruitt is in charge now." He may have been way out on the edge, but surely he knew that?

"GOOD! Now I can hunt Hanson down and make him hurt. That son of a bitch is the cause of all this." He was going to start the hunt almost immediately. Jackson began to stalk off. "Full body traction for life is too good for that asshole."

"He hasn't changed much." Rick looked at Alexis and grinned.

"Apparently not." Alexis resisted smiling but a glimmer still leaked out.

"I think you two need to talk to me about him. He's going to be my boss after all." Kate began to follow Jackson who was moving away but when she heard Rick begin to speak, she came back.

Rick recounted an event that had taken place when he was much younger. "Dad's emotional and protective not to mention opinionated. I remember him interjecting himself into a squabble between some guy and a woman. Dad intercepted his hand just before it hit her in the face. He told him that he really didn't want to do that. The guy started to rip Dad a new one until finally he threw a punch. The next thing I really remember was explaining it all to the police as an ambulance took the guy away on a stretcher. There was blood, I know that much."

"Dad's well-trained," Alexis agreed. "He also isn't above fighting dirty."

"He always said if you get in a fight, make sure it ends fast so that you don't get hurt. No matter what it took. I simply took that and made sure I never got into a fight if I could prevent it," Rick added.

"He talked about planning weddings. Ours and his. I think he means to marry Martha after she gets here," Kate shared with them.

That had Alexis stopping dead in her tracks. "He wants to marry Mom…again? Here?" She snapped her head around to look at her dad with new eyes. She was still mad, but not quite as pissed off as she used to be.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate was with Alexis while Jackson had Rick somewhere else. Kate was flipping through what was hanging there with a woman who just wanted to help hovering close by. "These are wedding dresses?" she whispered to Alexis who was standing next to her.

"This isn't Earth, Kate. They do things differently here. Just pray Dad doesn't guide Rick toward anything too weird." Alexis almost wished she had gone with him instead of helping Kate.

"I already have a ring." Kate flipped past a couple more dresses.

"Oh this isn't about a ring. This is about matching tattoos," Alexis told her.

"TATTOOS! … **MATCHING** **?** " Kate stopped looking at dresses and stared at Alexis.

"Dresses." Alexis waved her hand at the dresses they hadn't looked at yet.

Kate was back to flipping through gowns again. "Rick chooses the tattoo I have to get?" She was suddenly very concerned. "He better be careful or I'll shoot him." She huffed and rejected yet another dress.

Alexis made a face. "It's not Rick I'm worried about. It's Dad. He has enough skill to take on everyone in this building and he knows how to survive out in the wilderness."

"Skull and cross bones?" Kate mentioned and shuddered.

Alexis trailed her fingers across her chest. "More like a giant wolf head tattooed here."

Kate's eyes were huge as she stopped to glare at Alexis, wondering if she'd lost her mind. "I'll kill both of them." Then Alexis started laughing and actually reached out for something to hold onto.

"Ooo, I'm so getting you for that." Kate shook her finger at Alexis.

It took Alexis a couple of minutes to calm down. "They don't even have wolves here. But Rick **is** looking at matching tattoos; I wasn't yanking your chain about that." Alexis gestured to more dresses. "Just be thankful that you don't have to do it naked like on _Star Trek."_ She was still smiling broadly at what she had done to Kate.

"So what else is different?" Kate grinned wickedly at Alexis. "Do I sacrifice my future husband's sister? Cut out her heart and offer it to the gods?"

"Very funny." Alexis pointed, trying to get Kate back on track. "Dresses. Kissing is involved, though. So flex that PC muscle." Alexis began looking at dresses for her.

Kate rolled her eyes. "I can pucker up with the best of them."

"Wrong lips. The PC muscle is your other lips." Alexis dived a little deeper into the dresses to hide her smile.

"NO WAY!" She growled a little. "You are so getting it, I swear." Kate watched Alexis break down, laughing her ass off again.

"I… don't know about you… but I'm having fun," Alexis managed to get out between laughs.

"Anything else?" Kate turned to the attendant that still wasn't far away who was doing her best not to laugh.

"First or renewing vows?" she inquired.

"First," Kate answered.

"Renewing," Alexis told her.

That had the poor woman looking between the two of them.

"Married on a ship but not officially recognized," Alexis explained.

"In that case, follow me." She took them into a smaller side room.

"NOW WE'RE TALKING!" Kate loved this room.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate and Alexis caught up with Jackson and Rick for a late lunch. "What did you choose, Castle?"

"Uh-uh, Kate. Not until the ceremony." Rick wasn't talking plus his dad had explained parts of the ceremony which he had to admit were different. He'd even questioned the meaning behind the tattoos.

"CASTLE!" Kate protested.

"It's customary for the bride not to see the tattoo until during the wedding," Jackson explained.

"You already have a tattoo, Kate," Rick reminded her.

"That I chose during one of my more stupid moments. So what is it, Castle?" Kate wasn't giving up. "CASTLE!" She bit out his name and shot daggers at him.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"IT'S A TATTOO! YOU DON'T JUST GET THOSE REMOVED!" Kate was pacing and yelling at Alexis since Rick and Jackson had left.

Alexis tried to reach her. "That's kind of the point, Kate. It's permanent; marriage is meant to be permanent. You're supposed to trust the man you're marrying. Trust that he'll make good and wise choices. Or is it the lack of control that worries you?"

"WHAT? …Why would you say that?" Kate demanded hotly.

"I barely know you, but my brother loves you. Since you've been here you've led, not followed. Rick follows you. If you chose the tattoo would you be this pissed off? What if Rick was this pissed off?" Alexis stood up. "Or is this about Earth again?" Alexis began walking away.

"You were born there, it's your home, too," Kate yelled after her.

"It's also a dead world, Kate. They just don't know it yet; or worse, they don't care about the future. Going back there means death. Earth has no future. Their last chance ended when your ships and their domes were destroyed." Frustrated and worried, Alexis headed for the closest train station.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"Alexis?" To say that he was surprised would be an understatement.

"Hi, Dad." Alexis walked past him and into the room they'd given him. "I need a favor and I think you're just the person who can do it."

Jackson closed the door and turned to face Alexis. "Okay, I'll bite, what brings you here?" He was pretty sure she hadn't just stopped hating him for what he did or hadn't done.

Alexis paused, considering how to begin. "Rick loves Kate, so much so that I fear that he simply does what she says."

"This is about the tattoo, isn't it?" She turned to look at him. "I'm old not blind, Alexis. Katherine is a force of nature. Used to being in control, used to getting what she wants. Not used to taking no for an answer. Fights for what she wants. I can relate to that as your mother well knows. So what is it this time and why are you here?" He had to be her very last choice for her to be here.

"She's hung up on Earth. That Earth is home and that it isn't dead. I… I want to know if you'd go there, gather all the information you can, and bring it back. In their words, not mine or Rick's. I don't think she trusts either of us in that regard.

"I know Earth is home, but home is where you are. If one burns down, you make a new home. I just don't think Kate gets that. She's agreed to go to the Pegasus Galaxy; I'm not sure she's going to be happy there." Alexis looked at him with the best pleading eyes she could give him.

"And make Richard's life a living hell because he can't fix it for her." Jackson headed for his bedroom. He came back out with his bag packed and made a call.

"Dad?" She hadn't meant immediately.

Jackson ended his call. "You didn't think I could do this alone, did you? You leave in six weeks. Delay them as long as you can but I may have to meet you there. Hm, maybe I can get Martha to help. I doubt if they've launched a mission to go get her yet. Three people against an entire planet. They'll never know what hit 'em." Jackson started grinning an evil grin.

"Thanks, Dad." He walked right up to her. For a moment Alexis thought he was going to hug her and somewhere deep down she wished he would.

"I should have fought back like I should have and I'm so sorry, baby girl. I failed you, Richard, and Martha when you needed me most and I'm sorry. I gave you the space that you wanted when we got here and that was likely another of my mistakes. My son needs me now and it's one test I have no intention of failing.

"I like Katherine, but I suspect you're right. She needs to learn where her home really is." Jackson leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back." He headed for the door.

"Thanks, Dad, and I'm sorry, too." This was the man she remembered.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Jackson greeted him. "Hey, Phil. I see you're packed." He hugged his friend and slapped his back.

"Jack." Phil did the same to him. "So what's the gig?" Jackson hadn't said much, just that he needed him and his skill set.

"Clandestine work on another planet. I need you to hack their systems and download all you can while I hunt for a paper trail. How's your translator?" Jackson inquired.

Phil lifted it up and Jackson spoke in English. "Sounds like it works perfectly." Jackson was satisfied.

"Yours, mine, borrowing, or stealing?" Phil asked.

Jackson took exception to the word _stealing._ "We'll give it back."

"Stealing, got it. Good thing I know you or we wouldn't have a code to get back. Let's get started." Phil began moving.

Jackson said, "We'll need to load it with supplies. Not a lot. Six weeks tops."

Phil quirked his mouth a little. "Hacking droids to do the work is child's play. Might even take one or two with us." His mouth turned into a smile. "It's good to have you back. What have you been up to lately?"

"My son, his wife who wants me to teach her, and my daughter were chosen to go to the Pegasus Galaxy. That's the reason for the six week timeline," Jackson said.

"Lucky you. You need another man?" Phil was more than willing.

"They did hire me as a private contractor so I suppose that means I can bring who I want with me. Keep in mind my wife will be going with me and you'll need to help train my son's wife," Jackson warned.

Phil grinned. "I like women in uniform and breaking in a greenie sounds like fun. You want me and I'm in."

"Just so you know where we're going is where my wife's located. …And she thinks I'm dead."

"Man, I'm glad I'm not you. She's going to remove your ass and your ears will be ringing for days. I'll see if I can find an extra medical pod." Phil started laughing at the look Jackson was giving him.

"This is going to be so much fun." Phil started rubbing his hands together. "Lethal or stun? Never mind, we'll bring both just in case."


	15. Chapter 15

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 15**

"How do you read me?" Jackson asked, looking out onto a street he used to know well.

"Perfectly." So far, Phil was not impressed. "These guys are a joke. Your daughter could do this."

"Just get into the systems I told you about. If anything's hidden, that's where it will be. Don't worry about being spotted. And don't let them lock you out."

Phil rolled his eyes. "What are they going to do to me? Throw insults?" He was in a ship that he was pretty sure wasn't showing up on their radar and he was in orbit, surrounded by more junk than he had ever seen in his life.

"Yeah, well don't underestimate these guys. If they find you, they can reach you if they want to." He was also their only way back since this was not a sanctioned trip.

"I'll be careful. You just be careful down there. That's a big city; it's old, and dirty, and–" Jackson interrupted him.

"Careful," he warned, "I used to live here, you know."

"Shutting up now. Good luck." Phil ended the transmission.

"Luck, yeah, I could use a little of that," Jackson muttered. "That and some first aid." He stepped out and started walking. He'd already used one of Phil's little toys and had found her. Naturally she wasn't living in the same place. What did one person need with a place meant for four?

Jackson got lucky and someone was coming out so he stopped the door and went inside, then up the stairs. "Not bad, Martha." He looked around. It wasn't a dive but it also wasn't what they'd had together, either. You did at least have to be buzzed to be let in. Not that that was all that reliable.

He stopped at her door and took a number of deep breaths. This was going to be bad, he just knew it. Still he knocked and waited. Then knocked again. Suddenly the door opened and there she was. She looked almost exactly like he had last seen her. "Martha." Whatever she did he knew he deserved it.

"Jackson." Martha placed both hands over her mouth and felt tears starting. "Jack!" She reached out and drew him in, kissing him for all she was worth. Now that was a reception Jackson could get behind and he kissed her back with just as much passion.

Then she broke from the kiss and began pounding her fists against his chest. "Damn you, damn you." Martha began crying in earnest. "I thought you were dead." She ceased pounding his chest, leaned into him, and felt his arms around her. It had been what felt like forever for her.

"I'm sorry, Martha, I'm truly sorry. May I come in?" Or was this as far as he was going to get?

However, she grabbed him, dragged him inside, and closed the door with Jackson locking it behind him. "I need a drink." Martha went into the kitchen and poured a large glass of wine; she came back out to find him just standing there.

Eyebrow raised, she launched into him. "What have you done now? Did you know our daughter's dead? Did you know our son is somewhere out in space? What's going on, Jack?" Martha took a big drink.

"You might want to sit down for this." Jackson gently guided her over to a chair. "Where to start?" he said under his breath. There was so much to tell her.

She'd heard what he said. "Start with where you've been all this time and why?" Martha was sitting on the edge of her seat, literally and figuratively.

"It's all the truth, love; no matter what I say, try and remember that," Jackson began. "I've been with our daughter, with Alexis."

"Alexis is dead," she said flatly, her pain reflected in her eyes. She hated him already for lying to her.

Jackson pulled out a small pad and handed it to her. "Just press the button." Martha shook her head but pressed the button and almost dropped it.

" _Hi Mom." Alexis wipe_ _d_ _away some of her tears. "Dad's no_ _t_ _lying. I'm not dead. Please, please listen to him and do what he asks. Rick_ _'_ _s here_ _,_ _too, just not here here. When you two are done he's going to bring you to us. Help him, please!_ _I love you, Mom._ _" Alexis kisse_ _d_ _her fingers and_ _touched them to_ _the screen_ _._ Then the recording ended.

Jackson was now really glad that he'd called Alexis and had gotten her to do that. His chance of reaching Martha was marginal at best. But having Alexis talk to her was so much better.

Martha wiped at her tears. "Jack?"

"Press it again; watch it again and this time really look at her. And look at what's behind her." He had to admit that his daughter was a genius.

Martha did as she was told and listened to Alexis all over again. She tilted her head, deep in thought, and had to admit that their daughter looked a little older. "Behind her, Martha," Jackson urged as she viewed the recording intently.

"What's that? …And what the heck was that!" Martha saw a train fly by and looked up at her not so dead husband.

"Those buildings are called the Twin Towers. Each tower is a mile high. As for the other, that is…well, it's a flying train. Like the Disney Monorail only without a concrete rail to ride on."

"There's no such thing, Jack." She actually pressed the button on her own to look at everything all over again. It was Alexis's voice, she knew that much. And it certainly looked like her. Then she saw something else. "What was that?" Martha pointed and had Jack coming next to her but the recording was over. Jackson pressed the button and then she pointed again. "There! What did he do?" She watched some fellow dive into a pool of water, do a loop, then drop out of the bottom. Then a train went by, blocking her view.

Jackson started smiling. "That's a pool."

"I know that!" Martha was ready to smack him for being such a smart aleck. "But he fell out the bottom of it." She glared at her husband.

"It's another planet, love," Jackson stated succinctly.

Martha didn't believe a word and just stared at him. "Do you want to press the button again?" Jackson reached for the pad only to have her slap his hand away.

"No, I don't need to watch it again. It's not another planet, Jack. I don't know what it is but it's not another planet." Martha wasn't buying it.

Jackson pressed the button anyway and Martha watched it all over again. He tried a different tack. "What did our daughter say to you?"

"That she's not dead and I'm supposed to help you," Martha replied.

Jackson pressed the button yet again. "What else?" There was actually a lot in that one little message.

"Our son is there with her. But…how? He's out in space on a ship trying to save the planet." Martha had to admit that being in space really didn't have much to do with saving a planet.

"They haven't told you?" Jackson wasn't that surprised but he was amazed that they'd managed to hide it this long. Then he thought he might be able to use that.

She looked up at him. "Told me what?"

"It might be best if you learned it for yourself since you don't believe me or your own daughter."

"Believe a dead husband and a dead daughter? And you seem to know something I don't about our son. What are you doing, Jack?"

Jackson hated the pain that was on her face. He got down on his knees so that he wasn't towering over her. "Our son has met someone and they've exchanged marriage vows. It was only the two of them, no officiant. It's just that she's headstrong and a little domineering and you know our son."

"He's, I want to say shy, but that's the wrong word." Martha was willing to admit that about their son.

"He's a yes boy and he doesn't stand up for himself much against Katherine who he loves dearly," Jackson asserted.

"Her name is Katherine? Isn't the captain of his ship named that?" Was it a coincidence? "And how do you know all that when he's in space?"

"Press the button again and listen to our daughter. Every word she says."

Martha groaned but pressed the button again. "That!" Jackson said as Alexis reached the _here but not here here_ part.

She sighed and listened to that part again. "Help you do what?"

"I may need your assistance to gain entrance to various buildings and I think you can help. It requires that we fly to Houston." Jackson began smiling since he had his own plane of a sort.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Right now Martha was doing a lot of screaming. But about an hour ago things had been different.

"What's that?" She indicated the mini car-sized thing he was taking her to.

"It's a shuttle. I used it to get from the ship down to here." Jackson pressed his palm on the panel and the door opened.

"Ship, as in space ship?" Martha questioned and poked her head in to look after watching him step inside.

"Space ships are still the best way to get from one planet to another," Jackson answered.

She stepped inside and heard the door close behind her. It was tight; there were only two seats and Jackson was sitting at one of them. She stepped up and saw a lot of controls and saw what was outside through the glass.

"Have a seat, Martha, we're headed for Houston." Jackson motioned to the empty seat next to him. She didn't see any other place to sit so she sat down.

"I have a casting call tomorrow. I really need this job." She had big hopes for some kind of roll. Hopefully the lead.

"Not anymore since neither of us are staying here. When I'm done, you're coming with me to join our children and see our son get married. Followed by us." Jackson began turning things on.

She didn't see the point. "We're already married."

"On Earth, yes, but not where our son will be getting married. I just hope we can do this fast and get back there in time." They might miss it and he didn't think she would forgive him for that.

They lifted up like a helicopter and then poof, they were flying, and flying fast.

Which brings us to why Martha was screaming. Jackson wasn't just flying fast, he was barely flying over everything they came across. He raced down streets at breakneck speed, just inches above cars and light poles. She watched as he snapped wire after wire.

"Jack!" Martha was gripping what she could find for all she was worth.

It took a little time but soon they were skimming over treetops and telephone lines. "Aren't people going to see us?" And shoot them down?

"Don't really care. Just relax, we'll be there in no time," Jackson replied, keeping his eyes on his instruments.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"Explain this again," Martha said as she watched him place two items in her purse.

"They're non-metallic so they won't stop you at the metal detector and they don't look like anything special so when they search your purse, nothing will happen. You spin the top half like this." Jackson demonstrated but didn't actually twist it. "You drop them in any wastebasket you can find and just keep walking. Then do what everyone else will be doing." It was simple.

"Which is?" This better not be one of those drop and cover kind of things.

"It's only going to put out a lot of smoke, nothing more. But it will get security to concentrate on the entrance and not where I'll be. You'll go over to the bar we just left, order a drink, and I'll meet you there." Martha had to admit it sounded simple plus she could use a drink to calm her nerves.

"Give me 10 minutes and then start walking." Jackson kissed her cheek and ran off.

Martha actually looked at her watch every minute and finally began walking.

Sure enough she didn't set off any alarms and they did nothing except hand back her purse and let her inside. Martha walked around and spotted her first trash can. One spin and she dropped it inside then kept walking to the next bin.

Jackson was at his spot and looking at his watch. "Come on, Martha." A minute later there was a loud commotion; he blew the lock and slipped inside. A couple of locked doors later and he was planting a device. "It's in place, Phil. Tell me this works for you."

"One moment…. Perfect, you can do what you want," Phil responded. Jackson moved until he found the door he was looking for. Naturally it was locked so he blew it and stepped inside to gain access to his inner office. Another destroyed lock and he was in.

The locked file cabinets were first, followed by the locked desk. Whatever he found that was useful went into his satchel. When the door opened he quickly pulled out his weapon, shot whoever it was, and watched him fall. Deciding it was time to leave, he stopped at the body and pulled out his dart. He didn't care if they saw him but he didn't want to leave anything behind.

 **\- :: -** **:::** **\- :: -**

"How many have you had, sweetheart?" Jackson sat down next to her and raised his hand. "I'll have what she's having."

"This is my first!" Martha retorted and looked around furtively. "Did you get what you wanted? You didn't kill anyone, did you?" she whispered. She wasn't sure he was capable of such a thing but he was certainly brave enough to try.

"I did, thank you very much, and no, I did not. No one deserves to die no matter what they've done." He leaned back and waited impatiently for his drink.

"So what's next?" Martha didn't want to admit it but it had been exciting and a test of her acting skills.

"A hotel room. It's been a long time and I've missed you," he murmured in her ear. Martha choked on her drink and felt a warmth that she hadn't felt since he and their daughter had left her.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Martha was humming while lying naked next to the husband she was sure she had lost. "So what's next, besides more of this after I recover." She had a lot of time to make up for.

"China." They were the next major player in all this.

That had her lifting up to look at him and see if he was serious. "CHINA!"

"You're willing to believe me? After we're done here, we're leaving this planet and never coming back."

"Go to where our children are. …On another planet." Martha settled back down. "You didn't come here for me, did you?" Her biggest fear was that he didn't love her any longer.

"I'm here for two reasons. One, they had planned to send strangers to pick you up and take you out into space, to bring you to me and Richard and Alexis. You would have been scared and probably really mad. So I came instead.

"And two, I'm also here to gather information to prove what Alexis knows to Katherine. We think if she has her way she would come back here to live and drag our son behind her."

"Richard would hate it here now. The news on TV would break his heart." Martha was just going with the flow but her son would have nothing to do.

"Precisely. Katherine would eventually be unhappy but by the time she learned that, there would be nothing they could do about it. Maybe they'd even divorce and our son would be trapped here."

"So this is a rescue mission." Martha had been keeping up.

Jackson leaned down to kiss her head. "Ready for China?"

"How much time do we have? …Before our son gets married?" She really wanted to be there for that.

"Four to five weeks. Any longer than that and we'll miss it." They'd not only miss their son's wedding, but would end up delaying their own.

"Is China the only place?" She was thinking if they hurried they could leave very soon.

"We have to go to every nation that had a ship out in space."

That had Martha sitting straight up and she twisted around to look at him. "HAD?!

Jackson closed his eyes for a moment then broke it to her now that she was listening to him. "They've been lying to you, Martha," he said, his face grave. "Only the ship Katherine and Richard were on survives. All the others were destroyed in a meteor storm."

"Why would they do that?" That didn't make any sense to her.

"Think about it. Why did they build the ships in the first place? And now that they're gone, what does that mean? If they tell the public, what would happen?"

Martha stayed quiet for too long. "Into the shower, sweetheart. I need you to get dressed so we can get going. The sooner we're done, the sooner we can leave." Jackson took her hand, slipped out of bed, and took her into the bathroom with him.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Jackson had told her to stay in the shuttle this time and if anything bad happened, to press a sequence of buttons. After that she would be perfectly safe.

It was dark out but Martha was beginning to see the sun come up. It was going to expose where they were if he didn't get back there soon. Then she saw him as he blew past from one side to the other and turned to see the door open. "We need to go!" Jackson jumped into his seat and started powering up.

"JACKSON!" A man in uniform was suddenly standing right in front of them; he had a weapon and it was pointed right at her.

"Ignore him." Jackson started applying power.

"IGNORE HIM!?" Ignore a man with a gun! Suddenly she didn't see him anymore and all she did see was sky and really tall buildings. Then there was the sound of something hitting them.

All at once they were flying. Martha turned to him. "Who was that?"

"Police, but it's not important." Jackson kept applying power.

"NOT IMPORTANT!" Her husband had lost his mind. "Why is it not important?" What did he know that he wasn't telling her?

"Because I've learned enough; it's time to leave." Jackson touched a short series of panels. "Phil, we're coming to you. How are you doing with all those downloads?"

"The…," Phil had to look at his notes, "FBI are trying to keep me out but are failing. The NSA has proved to be more of a challenge. It's not that I can't get in, it's just that they kept shutting down the parts I reach.

"Now the Chinese – I think that's who they are – are just as bad but I believe I'm getting what you wanted." He was concentrating on what he was doing. "Why are you coming to me?"

"I'll explain when I get there. We're leaving as soon as I dock. Be on the bridge when I do." Jackson killed the transmission and paid attention to his flying as he reached for space.

"What was that? I've never heard that language before." Martha hadn't understood a word of any of that except for the letters.

"It's called EVE. Not to worry, love, I'll get you a tutor. I got one for Alexis." Then Jackson motioned toward the window and Martha turned to look.

"OH MY!" They were in space; not a lot of people could say that even today. "Is that?" She squinted, hoping it would improve her vision.

"It's not much but it's what we came here in and what we're leaving in." Jackson started smiling. "No, I didn't steal it. It's mine. I had to pull in a lot of favors and hand out a few more to get her. I think you'll like her." He was pretty sure she would. He smiled a little wider. "I named her _Martha."_


	16. Chapter 16

**Valley**

 **Chapter 16**

Alexis yawned widely and answered her video call just as she remembered to tug her top tightly around her. "Kate?" It was still pretty early; Alexis saw it wasn't even 6:00 am yet.

"There is a guy at our door and I don't understand a word he's saying." Kate felt bad about calling Alexis but she was the only one who knew both languages.

Alexis tried to suppress a groan. "Invite him in and put him on," she grumbled.

She saw a man about her dad's age show up and start talking. She repeated what he was saying in English but not word for word. "He wants to know if you will follow him. The contractor has removed a dead body from your ship."

A look of gratitude passed over Kate's face. "YES! Yes, please. What do they do here? If we were onboard the _Valley Forge,_ we would eject his body into space."

Kate listened to Alexis speak to him and then heard him answer back in the same language.

"Apparently incineration is the preferred method. Then they give you the ashes to do with as you wish," Alexis informed Kate then spoke to the man in EVE.

Kate listened as he answered Alexis who then translated. "The dominant belief is that the ashes join with the planet and make that person one with nature. I think Earth did something similar since land was becoming so expensive."

"So if I go with him, what happens? I don't understand a word he says or even how to get home." It made Kate wish she was on Earth even more.

Alexis spoke briefly to him then relayed what he said to Kate. "He'll take you and the body to a crematory where the body will be cremated. They'll give you a box filled with his ashes and then this man will bring you home.

"I'm going back to bed." Alexis ended the call and shuffled wearily to her bedroom.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

It took almost four very long hours. Kate hadn't understood a word anyone said but she had an ornate box and was standing in front of her door once again. "Thank you!" she called to the man who had done everything, so it seemed. She hadn't even paid anyone for anything.

Opening the door she found the place empty. Rick had left to go somewhere, she was guessing. Kate put her box down, feeling lost. So much had happened today. No one spoke English, she had no idea where she was, didn't know how to use the train. She wasn't on Earth or on her ship. She didn't even have money to go get anything.

She stepped over to the screen thinking she could talk to Alexis. "I'm a grown woman damn it!" Kate turned and left their room.

Part of the problem was she couldn't even read their language. Then she went back into their room and gathered up her swimsuit, decided to put it on under her clothes, and then left again.

Blind luck or memory had her standing at a clear panel filled with symbols that she didn't understand. It was a train station – she knew that much – and if this was the right line it would take her to one of the pools.

Nothing made sense and then a girl came running up dressed in a swimsuit carrying a towel. At first Kate was thinking that she had to go back and get a towel. However, she remembered that the place had towels.

The girl was pointing and talking to Kate. Kate pointed a spot and saw her shake her head and then tell her what she wanted again. This time the girl smiled, said something, and went to wait for the train with her mother. Kate pressed the panel and went to stand with them. The girl said something while looking at Kate.

Kate answered her in English. "I'm sorry I don't understand a word." The mother looked at her and spoke in EVE. "I'm sorry," Kate told her since she didn't comprehend anything they said. She simply smiled back.

Kate and her new friends made it to the pool and were soon inside. Kate removed her clothes and piled them up. She watched as the girl ran for the pool and her mother yelled at her. "No running, I'm betting." Kate chuckled; her mother yelling at her hadn't slowed the girl down one bit, nor did it keep her from jumping into the pool.

Kate was walking for the tubes to go back up to the top for the third time when the young girl from earlier joined her and smiled at her.

They had been having a little fun together seeing who could do what before falling out the bottom. "You're so going down, kid." Kate had decided to stop playing around. She ran and dove perfectly, then turned to watch the preteen who ran, did a flip, and landed on her feet. She went straight down before popping to the surface.

"Not bad, try this." Kate was determined. When she came out the bottom she was already starting her flip and added a spin to it before diving head first into the pool with her hands extended. Kate actually wasn't happy with it and didn't think it would earn her a 10, but she was trying to beat a kid.

Kate watched her doing loops in the pool and then somehow actually pushed off against the water and grabbed her ankles. She did two pike spins and landed in the water better than she did.

Kate was impressed. "I'm being conned here somehow." Kate was starting to think that she'd been had. Meanwhile the girl who was actually around 12 she guessed, surfaced and was smiling.

"You're very good." Kate was impressed and then listened to her chattering in EVE again. Then she turned to talk to her mother in the same language. Kate didn't understand a word of it and was guessing that the swim was over. Besides she'd had some fun and was ready to go home.

About 30 minutes later Kate was leaving and found both of them outside, apparently waiting for her. The girl took her arm and started walking with her mother on the other side of her.

Kate thought that they were taking her back to the train station so that she could find her way home. But when they all got off, Kate didn't recognize where they were. The building they walked into wasn't hers. It looked a lot like someone's office and even had a receptionist. Kate tried backing out of it but the little girl never let go of her and Kate didn't want to fight her.

All Kate heard was a lot of EVE until a man walked out, spoke in EVE, then a different language that Kate had never heard before. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm here."

He then said something in EVE and the woman answered. "She wants to thank you for giving her daughter a little competition," the man told Kate in near perfect English.

"You speak English." Kate was a bit surprised.

The man smiled. "I speak eight languages, actually. Your English is one of them." He began speaking in EVE again. Then the little girl spoke followed by the mother.

"They would both like to know if you can go to the pool again tomorrow at the same time. Her daughter is actually requesting it and her mother is adding her own plea."

"I don't understand why. Our meeting each other was just blind luck." Kate didn't understand and listened to both the girl and her mother speaking EVE, followed by him.

"Her husband died recently and it took all she could to get her daughter out to the pool again. She hasn't seen her daughter this happy since he died. She is giving you the credit for that. Her daughter says that she likes you and has never heard English before." He began talking to the daughter in EVE again.

Kate saw her mother nodding her head as the girl looked at Kate and said one word. "She said _please."_

"I…" Kate wasn't really sure just what to say. It was one of the strangest requests she'd ever had in her life. Still it was about a dead father. She sighed and knelt down to her level. "Swimming partner, I accept, but I'm leaving in a little under 6 weeks," she said to her but really to him.

Kate listened to him translate what she'd said then found herself being hugged. She heard a pair of words softly spoken in her ear. Kate didn't need a translator for those. "You're welcome," she replied.

An hour later Kate was saying goodbye in the only EVE she knew until she met her new swim partner tomorrow. "Thank…You." It was horrible English but Kate heard it just the same.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"You went swimming I see." Rick was back in their room as Kate entered.

"It was fun and I actually gained a swimming partner for tomorrow." Kate headed to their room to strip off her still wet suit.

"Swimming partner?" Why did she need a swimming partner?

"It's a girl maybe about 12 years old. I found out later that she had lost her father and we actually had fun swimming today so she asked me to come back tomorrow." Kate took off her wet top.

"She spoke English?" Rick didn't see how that was possible.

"Well no, they took me to a translator when I thought they were taking me to the train. I still don't know how to get around here." Kate started pulling her wet bottoms down.

"So Captain Kate Beckett who hates this place so much, has found herself a 12-year-old swimming partner who recently lost her dad." Rick was trying to make it sound like a joke.

Kate bristled and immediately argued, "I don't hate this place."

"But you would rather we live in a world devoid of any green," Rick retorted.

"You don't know that!" Kate threw her wet bottoms into the shower.

"That's why we were out there in the first place, Kate. To try and save something. You heard our boss. There was going to be what, 20% left soon? That 20% is going to die off because it literally can't survive in that type of atmosphere. You really want to place all your faith in some engineer who says he can clean the air or clean the water? Last I looked everything mankind makes ultimately fails, leaving nature to try and pick up the pieces."

"I don't want to argue about it any longer. Earth is home, Rick. It's our home. This place is pretty, but it's not home. They don't even speak English." Kate went to the closet.

"Half of Earth doesn't speak English!" he reminded her. "Go HOME if you wish, Kate, but there's literally nothing for me to do there. I can't grow concrete and I can't magically make plants grow without fresh water, sunshine, and decent soil. There's no future there." Rick gave up; he walked out of the bedroom and out the front door.

"Castle!" Kate came out still naked to find him gone. "Castle?" What she heard was an ultimatum. Here and married to him or home without him and divorced. She couldn't believe it. He was turning his back on their home and he'd actually stood up to her.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Rick didn't know how to get around either but he knew who did and he knew how to contact her. Especially given that he had spent most of the day so far with her.

"I can't believe that she wants to go back to Earth so badly. Go back to where neither of us has a future. She's fixated on HOME!" Rick flung his arms up into the air and was pacing the area that Alexis had taken them to.

"She'll come around. She's not stupid." Alexi still had a little faith.

"Kate's stubborn. She knows what she wants but is willing to ignore what she knows for what she wants. And…and I think we're divorcing before we're even married." Rick stopped pacing and hung his head.

"What did you do?" Alexis asked since it sounded like he had said something.

"I may have told her that she could go back to Earth but it would be without me." Rick grimaced as he looked at Alexis.

"Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Alexis's smile was wide as she teased him a little.

"Funny." Rick didn't actually think it was the least bit amusing. "Now what do I do? What if she really does go back?"

"In what? She handed her ship over to the contractor to be repaired and refurbished so that it could go to the Pegasus Galaxy. She's committed herself or at least her ship. Give her a chance, Rick. She may yet change her mind." Alexis still had an ace up her sleeve.

"The only thing that's going to take that is if Earth doesn't exist any longer. Hit by an asteroid or something." He didn't see that happening.

"Well Dad's a lot of things, but a planet killing asteroid? Nope, I don't think so." She may not be his biggest fan but he wasn't that bad.

"Dad? What's he got to do with this?" Rick was lost. What in the world was she talking about?

"I asked him to go to Earth and get hard proof for Kate, so she'd see that Earth was finished. …And to bring back Mom." Alexis was the one cringing now.

Rick shrugged. He remembered that part of the deal. "They were already going to get her."

"They were, but do you really want someone who either doesn't or barely does speak English to manhandle Mom into a space ship and drag her here? In case you haven't noticed, English isn't the primary language around here. It's not even the secondary language. Trust me, I know." Alexis still didn't like her time learning EVE.

He laughed a little. "Dad went to get Mom. I'd pay good money to see that."

"Mom's going to be furious. I'm dead, Dad just up and disappeared if I understand it correctly, and then there's you. You're out in space trying to save the planet. And what the hell were you doing out in space anyway? How does that save the planet?"

"It doesn't," Rick admitted. "I'm not stupid, Lexi. The second they dreamed up this plan, Earth was finished. But what was I supposed to do? You were dead and what was going out into space might end up being all that was left. What future did I have? What choice did I really have?"

"None." Alexis stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm really sorry, Rick. Earth was home, but anyplace can be home. When Dad brings Mom here, this will be home. That moon in the Pegasus Galaxy will be home because that's where we'll all be." She looked up at her brother. "Does Kate have family? Maybe Dad can go back and get them. I'm pretty sure he'd do it." It was one of the things she liked about her father. He was brave and fearless. It was also one of the reasons she was so mad at him. The one day that he didn't fight and she ended up here.

Rick shook his head. "Her mother was killed not long after Kate's 19th birthday. Her dad then drank himself to death about a year later. She grew up on her own. All she did, she earned the hard way."

Alexis let go of him and took a step back. "That might explain why. Think about it: her only home is Earth; her parents are buried there; all she knows is there; she made a life for herself there. Maybe she's afraid of change."

Rick started shaking his head again; he didn't see it. "I don't think she's afraid of anything. She would fight anyone if she had to."

"I mean mental and emotional change. To live here means learning a new language. These people aren't going to learn English for us. We need to learn EVE. To mentally recognize that Earth is dead when she has nothing to prove it. We're just tree huggers, Rick. We're the enemy." It was a mentality that Alexis had been fighting before she died.

He quickly defended her. "Kate doesn't see me like that."

"You, maybe not, but what about everyone else? If there is anyone else." Alexis wasn't sure any of the people that had helped her would try to keep up the fight.

"I can't tell you what to do. You love her and she says she loves you. The only question I can ask you is this: If you get married, whether locally or on Earth, will you have a voice?" Alexis feared for her brother.

"Regardless, I'm done discussing this for now. We should go and get her so we can all eat dinner." Alexis turned to leave.

"Lexi, are we using up all your money? You shouldn't destroy your finances just because of us." Rick had been wondering about that for a while now.

"Yes and no. Yes, we're using my money but I'll be reimbursed eventually. I don't have a lot but it's enough and we're not going to need money in the Pegasus Galaxy."

Rick felt better now.

 **\- :: -** **:::** **\- :: -**

The second Rick opened the door to their room Kate was all over him, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry, Castle, I'm so sorry." He'd walked out and it had given Kate time to think a little. What she knew was that she loved him. Loved him mightily, actually. Everything else could be worked out…she hoped.

"We came to collect you for dinner if you're interested. Or I could leave and let you two talk," Alexis offered even though Kate hadn't actually acknowledged that she was there yet.

"Dinner, yes please. Someplace quiet so we can talk, maybe. Does that picnic place do dinner?" Kate had liked it and it was peaceful and quiet.

Alexis shook her head. "Just lunch." She wracked her brain to think of a place. "I don't know really. I only lived here for about a year. I spent most of it with my tutor so I could learn the local language. Going out to eat wasn't that big of a deal."

"Learning a new language." Kate deflated and let Rick hold her up. "I have a question, though." She went on to describe the lettering, A7-A8, that was on the ship that towed them there.

Alexis shrugged. "Don't look at me, I have no idea how they name their ships. Where was it? That might help." She knew a little but not much.

"High up, right behind the bridge I think. Right above his engines I think." It was such an unusual ship that Kate wasn't really sure.

"Sounds more like a capacity than a name. Think about it. How would a ship's captain know if the tug sent to help him could handle him? It's only a guess since I don't really have anything to base it on."

Still Kate hummed that it is was possible.


	17. Chapter 17

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 17**

Alexis didn't know why she was there except that she had gotten a message to come to the base. At the moment she was standing just inside, looking out through the windows with her armed military escort. Off in the distance were all of the military ships that could actually land on the planet she was guessing, based on what little she knew.

Everyone was so far tight-lipped and not answering her questions, but she was betting her dad had something to do with this. She gave the thought of taking this guy's weapon and either shooting him then herself, or just him, and waiting for her dad to show up so she could shoot him, serious consideration. That or just waiting for her dad to show up then taking his weapon and shooting everyone.

She saw a ship slowly making its way down to land. It looked like nothing she'd ever seen before. It had short stubby wings on either side that had what looked like claws attached. They were presently folded onto each other and facing to the rear. There was what she took to be the cockpit and it had a huge double-barreled gun sitting under it. On top, about halfway back, was an even bigger gun that was also double-barreled. Then she noticed a pair of large round bumps just behind the cockpit.

It dipped down just enough for her to see the tail. It had a pair of winglets. One set went up and another sloped down. The closer it got, the bigger it got. She saw a few narrow rods poke out of it and each had a large _foot_ on it and it landed on them. It seemed to just sit there for a time. Then finally a ramp opened out the back and she watched a tall thin black man walk out and start looking the ship over.

She was still looking it over when out walked a pair of people. Alexis wasted no time in opening the door and running toward them for all she was worth.

" **MOM!** "Alexis slowed down a little but she still ended up slamming into her. She wrapped her arms around her and started crying in earnest.

"ALEXIS!" Martha was almost equally shocked, save for what her husband had told her. Martha hugged her just as tightly and joined in on the crying.

Jackson began to look at the ship but didn't really move any. He listened to a lot of _"_ _M_ _om"_ and _"Alexis"_ being said along with a lot of crying. Then suddenly someone was hugging him really tight. "Thanks, Dad!" Jackson was shocked that it was his daughter.

He hugged her back, loving how it felt. "We should go. Your mother hasn't had a shower in four days." Jackson wanted to keep hugging his daughter but they did need to go.

Martha had heard the magical word. "Yes, please!"

Martha was on cloud 9 as they walked. Alexis was still holding onto her and she had an arm around her daughter while her other hand held her husband's hand.

"OH MY!" Martha watched as one of those flying trains came in and stopped. Moments later she was standing, looking out as they flew into the city. She even recognized a few of the things they flew past. She didn't really hear the other people speaking in a language that she didn't understand a word of.

She was still amazed and had to have her husband and Alexis escort her off the train. She even stood there and watched it fly away. "Alien planet." She could see the twin towers in the distance even though the buildings that were closer weren't nearly as tall.

"Welcome to EVE, Mom." Alexis hugged her again, still not believing that she was there.

"This way." Jackson got them moving. It was only after they were almost there that Alexis paid attention to just where they were. When she did, she gave her dad a few more marks back.

"Get ready, Mom." Martha looked at her questioningly. "This is where Rick and Kate are staying." Martha began smiling.

Kate had gone back to talking about Earth again and Rick had left her to get away from being involved in yet another fight. "What's this?" He'd spotted something he didn't remember seeing before.

Kate looked at what he was talking about and came next to him to pick it up. "These are Paul's remains. They cremated him after getting him out of the engineering bay. I just don't know what to do with his ashes yet." Part of her wanted to eject them out into space. The problem with that was that his wife's body was back near Earth. If she did it here he would be lost.

If she did it on this planet, he would be equally lost. Hell, _she_ felt lost and couldn't seem to avoid getting into a fight with Rick over it all. Then there was someone at the door. She let Rick answer it while she put the box back where it was.

What Kate heard next was Rick yelling, "MOM!" It had her turning to see Rick hugging a lovely older woman who was maybe thinner than she was. When he finally let go of her so she could enter, she was sure she saw tears in his eyes.

In came Alexis followed by Jackson. "You must be Katherine." Martha had spotted her and Kate hadn't been called Katherine by anyone since before she could remember when. She also found herself being hugged by the older woman who could easily be the same age as her mother. "You're lovely, dear. I want to hear everything. You three can go somewhere else."

"But?" Alexis had only just gotten her mother back and now that same mother was dismissing her and her family in favor of Rick's fiancée. Alexis felt her dad put an arm around her. "Fine, are you two good with a picnic?"

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"Jackson tells me you're having issues with this place. I've only just gotten here but it looks nice." Martha wanted to hear what Kate had to say.

Kate groaned a little since she didn't think Rick's mother needed to be involved. Except she _was_ Rick's mother. The kind of person she hadn't had in her life for a number of years. "It's not Earth; it's not home," Kate finally told her.

Martha thought she understood. She had been through this before with her children. "You're homesick. Rick and Alexis went through this when they were young and away from home for the first time."

"I'm **not** homesick," Kate insisted, mostly because she wasn't a little kid any longer.

"Don't argue with a mother. Didn't your mother tell you that mothers know best?" Martha didn't wait for an answer. "So what's on Earth that you want to go back to?"

"It's home." Kate felt bad the second she said it. "They at least speak English."

"You do know that only about half or less of Earth's population actually speak English, don't you? What else?" There had to be something.

"Except for Rick, there's no one here. No old friends, no old classmates, no old teachers. I don't even know how to get around here. There's no one here."

Martha thought about it and knew she hadn't heard a real reason yet. "What was the common word you just said?" Martha got nothing back. She gave her a clue. "How many times did you say the word OLD? I'm older than you are; do you know how many people I haven't seen in years and am sure I never will again and don't care if I do?" Martha waited and watched Kate start squirming. "Pretend I'm your mother; tell me why, Katherine. What's on Earth that isn't here?"

Martha actually began to see tears and knew she was getting closer. "You and Dad." Kate answered her question so softly that Martha almost missed it. "I'll never see them again." Kate wiped at her tears.

"So ask Jackson to move them. Trust me, a midnight raid is just what he would love to do. You don't know my husband. He may be rough on the outside but he's all mushy and soft on the inside. …Ask him.

"You know home is where your family is. Homes may burn to ash, your city may flood, a tornado may leave you with nothing but a concrete slab, but if your family survives, you're home."

"You went out into space, Katherine!" What was she thinking?

"I was coming back," Kate argued.

"Not anymore, you're not." Martha knew something she didn't. "Did you know that the public doesn't know about you and that everyone else is dead?"

"What are you talking about?" What Martha just said didn't make any sense.

"You and the others aren't in the news much any more and when you are, it's only an update about your location and a recap of why you're out there." Martha dropped a bomb on her. "I should know, I helped my husband gather information about why. You want to see if all for yourself? Go talk to my husband. He and his friend hacked into a lot of computers and, as my husband puts it, permanently borrowed a number of hard copies that the public was never going to see or learn about."

"You've seen all of this?" Kate wasn't sure she trusted Jackson.

"I helped him get some of it. Very exciting, I must tell you. That and I spent the last four days putting it all together." Martha shook her head. "You and the others are dead, Katherine. They even have plans in place to eliminate you if you do come back." She dropped another bomb on her. "And yes, they know the other ships have been destroyed."

"They know?" Kate couldn't believe it. Earth was her home and it was trying to kill her.

"From what I've read they created this plan after the other ships were destroyed. The reason you went is dead and the prevailing plan is to make sure the public never learns that your ship survived. …You and my son are dead, Katherine." That they planned on killing her son was what did it for her.

The young woman stood there with her mouth hanging open. "Home is where your family is, Katherine. Mine's here so this is home now. Go talk to my husband. Have him make this your home. I'm told you married my son – that I missed by the way – so make this home with him."

"We're going to the Pegasus Galaxy." Kate had one last card to play and saw Martha just stare at her. Kate finally moaned, "I hope Mom and Dad love the Pegasus Galaxy."

"It'll be great, you'll see. You have us now. Families help each other. You don't want to know how lost and alone I felt when I thought I'd lost mine. I'll go where they go because they are my family." Martha was in, no matter where that was.

"Now let's go find my husband. He has a lot to show you and you have something to ask him for." Martha hugged her quickly and headed for the door with Kate not far behind her.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate knew the way to the closest train station and it was there that they watched all of them get off a train. "There you are. I was beginning to think we would have to search the entire city for you." Kate got her first look at what Martha was like and it was refreshing. It also explained where Rick and Alexis got their passion for what they did.

Rick explained their absence. "Dad had an idea for dinner so we went to check it out."

"It's cool!" Alexis had given her approval.

"Good, you two are with me. Jack, Katherine has something to ask you." Martha walked up to him. "That you'll do if you know what's good for you." She smiled widely, patted him, and joined her children.

Jackson was left with Kate as they watched them leave on the next train. "Remind me why I love her and married her," Jackson chuckled lightly and turned to look at Kate. "So let's hear it."

"Martha said… She suggested… That woman is something special." Kate began shaking her head.

Jackson started smiling. "I'm an alien, not stupid. So what did she volunteer me for?" He knew his wife. Kate started smiling so he knew he was right.

Kate took a breath and began explaining. "My family…my deceased parents are buried back on Earth." Jackson knew just where this was going. "Martha convinced me that home is where your family is and since Rick and I will be in the Pegasus Galaxy, my parents need to be there too. Sooo… I'm asking if you'll go get them. I'll help if you need me."

"I have a couple conditions." Jackson tried to look intimidating to show he was serious.

Kate squeezed her eyes closed and prayed. "Which are?" They had to be bad, she just knew it.

"We stop and get both of them flowers AND we leave something personal in the hole that we leave behind."

Kate's eyes snapped open. It wasn't what she was expecting. "Everything I own is on the _Valley Forge."_

"Then that's where we'll stop before going to Earth. Now, I'm hungry. Shall we go before they order for us?" Jackson began pressing panels to make sure a train stopped here.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"The Cavern?" Kate saw where they were all going. First they went down a set of stairs to get below a building and then through the doors at the bottom. Apparently they had left a reservation because they used the name Castle. She took hold of Rick's arm. One day soon she was going to be a Castle.

Stepping past the reception area they followed their guide to their table. "This is interesting." Martha was looking everywhere.

"Is that…?" Kate pointed to a stalactite then spotted a few more. "We're in a cave." She started sniffing the air. "It even smells like one and feels a touch humid."

They all sat down and took their menus to order from. "This better not be full of mushrooms." Martha wasn't in the mood.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

 _It is four days later_

Kate didn't have words and neither she nor her mother were going to understand a word she said and while a note might have been enough, she felt a little bad about this so she'd broken down and asked Alexis to come with her.

Alexis saw a little girl rush toward Kate who was stripping off her clothes to expose her swimsuit and finished just in time to have her slam into her. "Hi, Kate," she said in English that had a heavy accent.

"Hi, Stephanie." Kate did her best at speaking EVE though it was heavily accented as well.

"This is my fiancé's sister, Alexis." Kate's introduction was all Alexis needed.

"Hi, where's your mother?" Alexis needed to start with her and saw her point to a lady that was joining them. Alexis went to her, leaving Kate with her little friend.

"Ready?" Kate asked in accented EVE while smiling.

"Ready," Steph replied in equally accented English and they both ran to the pool.

It was hours later and both of them were tired and starting to look like prunes.

Kate listened to her mother talk to Steph. "MOM!" She'd even said it in English and turned to look at Kate with pleading eyes. Then Kate listened to her mom explain why Kate was going to be gone for a few days.

Kate found herself being hugged by Steph. "Are we okay?" Kate asked her in English.

"Okay," Stephanie responded in EVE. She wasn't happy but she also understood.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"You're sure you don't want me to go with you?" Rick was more than willing to go.

"To help dig up my parents? No. Honestly, I can't really believe _I'm_ doing this." Martha had reached her and why she wanted to be on Earth, but this was just nuts.

Rick walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and felt her melt into him. "My family's here now. I see no reason why yours can't be as well. Mother's right, you know. Home is where your family is. You don't think they want to be left behind and never be visited do you?"

Kate started smiling. Leave it to Rick to see what she didn't. "Eight years they can understand, but a lifetime?" She spun to face him so she could kiss him. Rick looked at the time. "You'd better get moving. My dad might not wait for you." He was teasing even if she didn't know it.

Almost an hour later Kate was being escorted onto the base then to where Jackson's ship was sitting and waiting. A tall thin man was pushing something inside while she watched Jackson using a remote and something much bigger was crawling its way inside right behind him. "What in the world is that thing?" It looked a lot like something a kid would tinker together. It was mostly arms and legs with very little body.

"You didn't actually think we were going to use shovels and dig all night, did you? Plus our shuttle isn't big enough for caskets to fit inside. Unless you want to open them and just take the bodies." Jackson had a plan.

"Definitely not. …But doesn't this mean that this ship will have to land instead of remaining in orbit?" It was a big ship after all.

"Yep. Just so long as you don't get all weird on me about just where we land. I want to be in and out as fast as possible." His ship could put up a fight but he would prefer if they didn't have to.

"Phil, meet Kate," Jackson said in EVE.

"Kate, meet Phil," Jackson said in English.

Phil asked Jackson a question in EVE.

"What did he say?" Kate could tell this was going to be fun.

Jackson replied to Kate in English. "He wanted to know if he could eat you."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "He what?" Kate demanded as both of them began to laugh. "Let's go before I shoot both of you. Now I see where Alexis gets her sense of humor." Kate remembered being teased earlier by her. "That tattoo better not go on my ass," she muttered.

"Ah, the marriage tattoo. I still haven't told Martha about that yet." Jackson closed up the ship and headed for the cockpit. "Better come with me, we can start your training along the way."


	18. Chapter 18

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 18**

Kate snapped back into place after going through the gate again. "Is it always like that? It makes me feel like I'm turning inside out." She shook her body to check and see if she still had all her parts.

Jackson smiled at her. "You took it better than Martha did."

"Oh? What did Martha do?" Kate hadn't thought about Martha coming through the gate to get here or there.

"She screamed!" Jackson started laughing. "Both forward and backward."

Kate felt for Martha; she had almost done the same. "May I ask a question or two?" She was full of them at the moment.

"Shoot… and I meant that figuratively," Jackson quickly added which had Kate smiling again.

"Rick talked about an uncle when he was young." Had her almost-husband lied to her? If he had she was going to give him more than a piece of her mind when she got back.

"Yeah, those were the years. Mountain Home Farm and Uncle John." Kate could see Jackson thinking back to those years. "Martha got the idea that our son should be sent to her brother's farm for the summer instead of a summer camp. That lasted a lot longer than I thought it would." Jackson started smiling.

"He would come back with all these horror stories about growing up on a farm. But he actually seemed eager to go when each summer came along." Jackson laughed a little. "Martha would wash all his clothes twice just to get the smell out when he came home. We both think he learned his love for nature during those summers." Jackson wasn't sorry he'd listened to Martha.

"Why Alexis Rodgers and not Castle?" Kate knew Alexis had been found out. It was just that she and apparently Jackson were long gone by then.

"It's Martha's maiden name. Alexis is a strong woman, don't let her fool you. Her love of nature and the planet far exceeded Rick's. She took on a lot of people and made a fair number of enemies. Alexis was willing to fight while Rick was more of a talker. But they both love one thing." Jackson turned to look at her. "It was her decision."

"Yes, they're both mine." Jackson sighed heavily. "My wife gave birth to Alexis on EVE and then as part of her work, we were reassigned to observe Earth. She would do the work and I was to be our protection." He closed his eyes. "No sooner than we had gotten there then she was run over by one of your cars. It...it broke my heart into pieces, leaving me with a baby to raise alone. So I started doing both of our jobs. Then I met Martha. She wasn't afraid of me or the fact that I was raising a baby. If anything, I think that's what made us attractive to her.

"To make a long story short, Martha ended up pregnant and walked down the aisle with her father during her seventh month of the pregnancy." Kate saw his smile grow wider. "She was lovely when she wasn't pregnant but somehow she was even more so then. Pregnant and all dressed in white, which doesn't mean the same thing on EVE as it does on Earth, by the way."

"So I've learned." Kate rolled her eyes and saw Jackson looking at her. "Alexis and I went dress shopping. We didn't find anything and that was when I found out what wearing white means. Definitely different than Earth."

Jackson was still sporting a smile. "How are you with the required tattoo?" He was just going to love this.

"I'll kill my husband if I either hate it or hate where he wants it," she answered quickly and with sincerity in her voice. "We really have to get those?" Kate turned to look at Jackson.

"Martha may not kill me but I _will_ suffer if she hates it." Jackson could just imagine what she was going to do to him. "And yes, it's part of EVE's culture. Given that we will be leaving in about four weeks, our marriages may be the first in the Pegasus Galaxy. Just don't expect any changes to tradition."

They were both silent for a time. "She talked about a house to be built on one of the islands."

"So Alexis has told me. You chose to go to Earth for your parents. It leaves Martha and my son and daughter to discuss the designs. Hopefully one of them will know what you like." Jackson hoped so for her sake. "With three people from Earth designing a house, you should get what you want."

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Alexis knew today was going to be big for a lot of reasons, one of which was of the three of them, only she spoke EVE.

"Welcome to Hamilton Designs where you may choose what will be built." An older man greeted them. "I've got a number of options that have been done already. You can choose one and we will hopefully be able to expand on it. If you'll follow me, please." He spoke in EVE and had to wait for Alexis to translate.

The room was nicely sized and had a simple pedestal standing in the middle. "Let me start with the first one." He waited for Alexis and then they all watched the room slowly transform across the floor, up the walls, and across the ceiling.

"OH MY!" Martha had never seen anything like it.

They found themselves standing next to a large pool that had several oval-shaped entrances. However, it was the terraced ceiling that went up 14 levels to an opening in the top. While that alone was amazing, it was enhanced by having each terrace filled with plants. The plants softened all the hardscape that was the pool and the walls.

Then they watched him add three boats that were tied up to one side. "Not a pool, it's a boat house!" Alexis was amazed. "Not to be critical but where's the house?" That was what they were there for.

In the blink of an eye, the interior of the boat house was gone and replaced with a partial aerial shot and cutaway that took up one wall.

"What little land there is is precious so we're not going to be building on it. Instead we're going to be building on the water. The boat house, as you call it, will be attached to one of the islands. This, though, is the main house." It was one of the designs they had created.

Martha was standing there with her mouth agape.

It looked large, easily two stories tall, and filled with glass. It had a central core that went down into the water to an underwater building. There were four smaller columns that helped support the whole thing.

What appeared to be three other buildings that were smaller but just as round, looked to be cantilevered off of the main building. They were only a single story but it looked like each had a roof deck.

Rick looked at the three of them. "The round pyramid I love, but I think Kate will throw a fit if she has to live in this." He tried to think about what she liked.

"It is very EVE, much like the city we are in," Alexis granted. She told him to keep the boat house but wanted to see something else.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

They'd gone through two more options that he had for them but they were all variations on the same theme. He was proud of the work he and his team had done but he was watching the lone male shake his head, soon followed by the two women.

"Can you show us a view of what is planned for the future city that will be on the water?" Alexis asked him. Maybe it would tell them something.

Next thing they knew, they were looking at an aerial view of the future city. It was impressively large and mostly round save for one long bridge that touched an island. There was sand all around the main building that was easily 10 floors tall. The roof was filled with plants and the central area of the roof looked like an enormous greenhouse.

But what stood out were the six bridges that went far out into the water with each ending in teardrop-shaped building. Every building had a few boats tied up. There was also some kind of line that was lit up that connected all of the teardrops; the space between each teardrop and the main building looked like some kind of film.

Then they saw a large pool under the ramp between the building and the island. You could just barely make out people to give a sense of scale.

They listened to him speak then Alexis translated. "He says the pods on the edge are mostly for the fishing fleet, though some public access is planned. The film we see is actually a power cell which generates energy by sunlight and wave action. It's intended to be self-sufficient, hence the entire roof covered in plants. The pool is meant for recreation."

"He says there will be one for each island," she added.

"It's amazing." Martha was astounded at what these people were capable of building. "But where do we live? In that?" She pointed at it, unsure that was where she wanted to live. Though it was a city so maybe she could adjust.

"You sound a lot like Kate, Mother. She loves what this place can do and she'll probably like it." Rick was sort of in.

"I hear a **but** , brother of mine." Alexis loved the city and loved the boat house. It was just that the house looked too sterile for her taste.

"There are lots of plants but where's the nature? Where's the wood?" That was what Rick was looking for. "A place to get away from all this concrete?"

Alexis nodded. "I understand, Rick." Then she spoke in EVE to the older man and watched as he started searching before bringing something up that was full height on a screen all around them.

"YES, yes, this is what I'm talking about." Rick immediately loved it and Alexis had to admit that it was beautiful.

"This is also quite nice." Martha liked it.

Alexis began speaking in EVE and listened to what he said. "He says that to keep the architecture similar, our home needs to look like one of the options he has shown us," Alexis started to explain and saw her brother's features drop in defeat. _"However,_ he can make the interior look like anything we want so long as what we want conforms with the parameters of the outside of the building." She'd tried to find a compromise.

"Can he do the same for our roof that he's doing for the city? All of the roofs?" Rick loved that idea and saw him nod after Alexis translated his question.

"This outside and wood inside; I'm sold." Rick was in.

Alexis looked at Martha. "What about you, Mom? Part of this home is for you and Dad. There's only going to be the one house. Without floor plans, I'm betting each of those smaller round buildings are our bedrooms and maybe a little more." She was hoping that the main building was big enough for them all to get lost in so that it didn't feel like they were living on top of each other.

Alexis didn't wait for Martha. "Where is the city being planned in relationship to our home?" Alexis inquired and they watch the city disappear only for a large overall map show up.

"The other side of the island with a road linking the two." It even looked like the road was covered. "What's planned for this road?"

Alexis listened to him explain then translated for them. "He says the road is going to have what I think is a tram. Like a flying train, only a lot smaller, and it rides on air just above the road. He says three are planned at the present time."

Alexis asked him another question in EVE and listened to his reply. "He says come back tomorrow and they can show us a couple of options for the interior. His team needs to do some research. I don't think they're used to working with wood."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"What did you think?" Alexis asked Rick and Martha as they waited for a train to take them to lunch.

"Where was Kate's multilevel pool that she asked for?" Rick questioned.

"We can ask him tomorrow," Alexis replied since that was one of the things that had been agreed on earlier.

Martha had a question of her own. "I've never seen anything like it. Just how long is it going to take them to build it?"

"Another question we can ask tomorrow." Alexis began making mental notes.

"Who takes care of all those plants?" Rick had seen a lot and that was just the roof of the buildings and didn't include the islands themselves.

"We do." Alexis started smiling since it was going to keep both of them quite busy.

"Kate may never see me again," he groaned. He knew how much time he had spent in the Domes; now they were adding all this.

Martha looked at her daughter. "What about you, dear? Is there no one in your life?" It sounded like she was alone here.

"MOM!" Alexis moaned. She didn't need her mother involving herself in her social life. What little she actually had.

"I worry about you, darling. It's a mother's prerogative." Martha wrapped an arm around her and Alexis was spared as a train arrived to take them to lunch.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

They were already almost in Earth orbit when Kate remembered to ask if they could stop at Saturn on the way back out. She wanted to leave Paul's remains behind since that was where his wife Leslie had died.

"So what's the plan?" It was his ship.

"We land next to your parents, dig as fast as we can, then leave. Simple." Jackson was hoping it was, at least.

"Land in a cemetery and dig. There are other people buried there, you know." Kate wasn't a big fan of his plan, not that she had one herself.

"We're only after your parents, not theirs." Jackson didn't see a problem, provided there was enough space to land and not land on a building.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

During the rest of the trip, Jackson was teaching Kate how to use the controls, how to adjust between screens that were in front of her, along with finding out which eye was dominant.

"This thing is good for what exactly?" Kate adjusted the headset as she looked through the screen that was in front of that eye.

"The same thing that my contact lens is doing. You can set it up to show you what you want to see. Until the sensors detect a problem like another ship that might be dangerous, I use it to monitor the engines so that I don't overload them. Once in combat, I switch to sensors so I can see a readout about each ship that's in range.

"In your case I've set it up for you to see in infrared. So anything that's hot out in space will stand out since space is very, very cold." His commentary explained the little streaks of red that were leaving orbit and headed toward the planet that she was seeing.

Kate had already done her best to explain where her parents were buried and since Jackson used to live here he kind of knew where she was talking about.

She suddenly straightened up, unsure of what she was seeing. "I've got a number of hot spots all over the place. A few are at the 30,000 feet range while others are closer to the ground."

"Sensors show commercial airlines, helicopters, and some small planes. They're all over the place." They seemed to be scattering to the four winds. "Something's going on." Jackson didn't know what and he was beginning to approach the cemetery Kate had talked about.

"Are your parents up front or deep in the back?" Jackson needed to know so that he didn't land on them.

"About halfway, east side." Until she was on the ground walking it, she couldn't do better.

"Right up front it is, then." Jackson kept the lights off and came in hard for a landing before slowing to a crawl. "Get ready, Phil," Jackson advised so that he could turn their toy on and get ready to use it.

Jackson decided on a spot and didn't feel one of the ship's legs crushing a car. "We're down," he informed them and jumped out of his seat with Kate right behind him.

"Show us where," Jackson said to her and they both followed her to her parents. "These two," he told Phil in EVE. "Okay, Kate. Go get what you want to leave behind, this should only take a few minutes." She went running back into the ship.

Except she suddenly stopped and turned to look. She thought sure she saw something trying to hide. Probably from the ship landing, she was guessing. The closer she got the more convinced she was that it was what she had thought. "Hi there," she tried cooing at him or her only to see two small heads turn to look.

"I don't want hurt you. …Are you hungry or thirsty?" It didn't occur to Kate that she didn't have any dog food. Nor that she hadn't yet seen any dogs on EVE. She crept in closer and closer as she watched both of them watching her. She knew she didn't have a lot of time so she took a risk, reached out quickly to grab one of them, and nestled him or her in the crook of her arm. A second quick grab and she had an armful of puppies.

Kate walked quickly back to the ship and up inside, cooing at them the entire time. She found a spot that would hopefully block them inside, gathered two of her precious remembrances, and ran outside.

Kate watched as one of the caskets was being placed tenderly on the ground. "Damn!" She was impressed. The thing they'd brought was a fast digger.

,

Just a moment later Kate was throwing them in – her mother's ring and her father's watch. "I hope you're not angry with me for this," she said to the hole in the ground as she watched Phil use their toy to carry one casket into the ship and come back for the second.

All in all, it had only taken 15 minutes to dig up both caskets and carry the first one into the ship. They walked just behind Phil who was controlling their toy to carry the remaining casket into the ship. In the distance they could hear a siren. "Sounds like we're about to have company." Jackson went past everyone as Phil set the casket next to the first one and shut down their toy.

Kate was just climbing into her seat when she spotted lights. "Police," she warned.

"He doesn't worry me. His little pea shooter can't do anything to us." Jackson started turning on the ship's systems.

"Definitely police." She'd spotted the car that was responding only to watch it as they began to climb up into the air. Jackson set the controls to keep going straight up while he switched screens.

"Interesting, the government has ordered all aircraft to land." Jackson was listening to the local control tower ordering each individual aircraft where to land. "They're even ordering us to land. What I don't know is why."


	19. Chapter 19

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 19**

Kate found out that while they were in orbit, the United States had grounded all aircraft in response to China invading several surrounding countries to take total control over all of Southeast Asia. The US had done nothing as of yet except to complain, the same as a lot of other countries.

"You were right." Kate couldn't believe it. She didn't really think that they would blow themselves up, but the planet was changing and she didn't know if it was for the better.

"I didn't have enough time to fake that much information. A lot of it was thanks to Phil. He's a genius with computers." Jackson could feel for her since he had lived on Earth for a number of years.

"Ready to go home?" Jackson asked, not meaning to rub it in about just where home really was.

"Yeah, but can we stop at the Saturn rings first, please? I'd like to release Paul's ashes so maybe a piece of him can join his wife." It was nearly impossible – she knew that – but it felt right somehow.

Jackson nodded. "Not a problem, maybe we can even stop at your ship so you can look around and gather some more clothes for the two of you."

"That would be nice. Neither of us have that much to wear. We don't want to bleed Alexis dry of whatever money she has." Kate was thankful for the opportunity.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate had momentarily forgotten about them when she suddenly heard Phil yelling in EVE. As quickly as she could, she was up and out of her seat and into the bowels of the ship. "Don't hurt them, they don't bite!" It didn't look like Phil was doing anything to them so maybe he was just a little surprised at finding them.

She scooped both of them out of their hiding place and sat down on the floor with them, trying to keep both of them in her lap. Little by little she looked each one over just as Jackson joined them. "Where in the world did you find a pair of dogs?" He wasn't angry, just surprised.

"I think we almost landed on them and they were scared." Kate was finding that their being scared was wearing off as they became far more active. "I know we don't have food but do we have water at least?" She could figure out what to feed them later. A moment later she watched Jackson put down a large stainless steel bowl filled with water that Kate placed them next to; the puppies started drinking like mad. "Thirsty, are we?" She had a wide smile on her face.

Jackson looked sternly at Kate. "They poop and pee in my ship and you get to clean it up." He got Phil's attention and took him back to the cockpit.

"Dog hater!" Kate yelled after him while still smiling. "I think we'll wait until you two meet Castle before we name you." She hollered after Jackson who was long gone. "DO THEY HAVE VETERINARIANS?"

She glanced down at them. "I wonder where you two are going to live. Hell, I wonder where _I'm_ going to live."

She was still playing with both puppies when Jackson showed up. "We're approaching the rings of Saturn, as requested."

"Oh, good." Kate left the puppies and went in search of Paul's box, not realizing that they went from her to Jackson to inspect him to see if he was play material.

She came running back with the box to find her two puppies off to one side. One was peeing on the deck and the other was pooping. "DAMN IT!" She did at least now know that one was female since she hadn't bothered to look since she was the one peeing. "I'll clean it up. Where's the airlock?"

Kate placed Paul's box in the airlock and stepped back into the ship. "May luck shine on you, Paul, and I pray you may find a tiny piece of Leslie. I'm truly sorry." She gave the signal to Jackson who opened the outer door and everything inside the airlock was ejected into space. "You were good shipmates."

Kate found both puppies jumping at her legs. She cleaned up after both of them and flushed it away. "Four more days? We need to find something that they'll eat and won't give them diarrhea." She turned to find Jackson groaning and heading back to the cockpit.

She started gathering up material from her room to make a dog bed and locked them, along with their water, in her room. "Go to sleep," Kate ordered and closed the door on them.

She found Jackson in the cockpit as she sat down. "Where are we going?" To her it looked like Earth was getting closer when it should be behind them.

"Puppy food." Jackson couldn't believe he was doing this. "So long as you don't mind we get it using 5 finger discount." He had no plans on paying for it or even getting it with the store being open.

Kate simply sat there and smiled broadly.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate had no idea just where they were and hadn't even watched Phil land in the parking lot. The second they hit the ground, Jackson opened the back ramp that was actually facing the building. It had **PETSMART** written all over it.

She and Jackson ran for the front door; Jackson blew the lock clean off, pushed the glass doors open, then did the same to the inside doors. Each grabbed a shopping cart and raced for the dog area. Kate stopped for puppy pee pads, flea and tick stuff, shampoo, then different collars and leashes and pushed her full cart toward the door, stopping just long enough to throw in some toys and some tennis balls.

She was running back inside to get another cart just as Jackson pushed his out, full of dry puppy food. The bags were blue and white so she went in search of the same, only looking for canned food.

Jackson was back before Kate could push hers out the door and into the ship. He was pushing his next cart full of puppy food out just as Kate was running inside. "Get adult dog food this time." He was thinking they had enough puppy food.

Three more trips and Kate was filling her cart with dog beds before stopping to get bags and boxes that were dog treats. "Last trip," Jackson said as he ran inside.

He threw in more cases of canned food and for good measure grabbed a bag of dry food and raced for the ship just in time to hear sirens in the distance. "Time to go!" He hit the door button and then went to a communication panel. "Get us in space." He left Kate behind and ran to the cockpit.

Kate found she was surprisingly giddy. She never knew stealing was such frightening fun. "You two better be worth it." She went in search of another bowl and started looking for a bag of dry puppy food.

She found both of them curled up on each other in their bed in her room. She left the food behind and headed for the cockpit. It had four seats so she took one of the ones in back. "They're sleeping," Kate announced even if only Jackson understood her. "Thank you." She figured she owed him one now.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Martha, Rick, and Alexis were leaving the contractor again the next day. "Is everyone happy?" Alexis inquired.

The outside of everything looked a lot like EVE while the inside of the bedrooms were now individualized. The main building was a mix. The contractor had tried to talk them out of as much wood as he could possibly get away with. It wasn't so much that he hated the look or the material. It was just that he had bid this project and everything these people did to his design was costing him money.

They'd also learned that an entire fleet of ships was going to be sent. Most of it filled with material and workers. All of his workers would be sleeping on ships and would be shuttled back and forth until the work was completed.

"Six weeks," Martha mentioned as they waited for a train.

"Don't look at me. I haven't seen them build anything since I've been here. I don't know how long it takes them to do anything. Though six weeks for our home sounds pretty fast." Alexis was looking forward to seeing it go up.

"Even less time for the islands themselves." Rick had been amazed by that as well. Each island was going to be ready for local flora to be planted that had already been identified as being safe to eat.

Alexis reminded them both that not just the islands were going to have plants. "It's going to take years for all those plants to mature and produce anything." The roof of the city and the roof of their home were also going to be green.

"That was nicely done, little brother." Alexis grinned and bumped him.

"Well, we're not going to be working 24/7 every day we're there. We have to have **some** fun. Besides, by increasing the size of the boat house a little allows them to build Kate's series of pools inside the boat house." Rick had initially been angry that the contractor had left that part out. But he'd recovered quickly.

"Not that. The boats." Alexis was looking forward to having fun on the boats.

"What good is a boat house without boats. What were they thinking?" Rick had thought he was nuts.

"You're awfully quiet, Mom." Alexis didn't like it.

"Hmm? …Oh, just thinking about what your father and Kate are up to. I hope this helps her because it'll take a lot to get Jackson to take her parents back to Earth and rebury them." Martha was pretty sure the answer to that would be a resounding no.

"Thanks, Mom." Rick gave her a quick kiss to her cheek. She had possibly saved their marriage. That they hadn't even had yet. Which reminded him. "I've chosen a tattoo and where they'll go. Has Kate found a dress yet?"

Alexis shook her head. "Apparently getting married here is not the same as on Earth. There are a few similarities like the bride needs a dress. It's just that the color is dependent on any number of things. Kate's lucky that she needs white, though she could use gold. It's just that there aren't that many of either color to choose from. We can go back to looking when she returns. We can take Mom with us, too. She needs a dress; she just needs a different color." And instantly Alexis thought she should have kept her mouth shut until her dad was back.

"Even on Earth white is out for me, so what color do I have to wear?" Martha stopped looking out of the train to look at her daughter.

Alexis scrunched up her face, hoping it said, _Please don't shoot the messenger._ "Ivory and black."

Martha tried to picture it. "Black for the bottom and ivory for the top. That sounds nice. Just not strapless, I'm not as young as I used to be."

"You're young enough." Alexis took exception to her mother thinking she was old. It garnered her a quick hug and a kiss.

"Six weeks after we get there. I don't see how." Their new home was going to be huge. Even the bedrooms were large; then there were all the other rooms plus the one that was underwater.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate was actually flying the ship as they approached EVE a couple of days after going through the gate. She was a little more ready for it this time, but it still felt like she was being turned inside out and stretched.

She got on the comm. "Jackson, they're asking questions I can't answer." She needed him in the pilot's seat. She had also learned that an authenticated code was needed to go through the gate. Which started her thinking up questions about how her ship had gone through the gate when they hadn't even talked to anyone, let alone had a code. Authentic or not.

Jackson quickly showed up and began speaking in EVE which was another reason Kate couldn't answer. She still only knew a few words and couldn't yet make sentences. It did, however, remind her where she was going to be tomorrow. Swimming with her new friend who was slowly teaching her EVE while she leaned English.

Rick, Martha, and Alexis were on a train at that moment. They'd been summoned to a meeting with Vice Chancellor Pruitt that had taken them by surprise.

"She's expecting you, you can go right in," Melissa said to Alexis in EVE.

Alexis announced their entrance in EVE. "Vice Chancellor Pruitt."

"The Castles, excellent." She got up from behind her desk and met them at the sitting area. "You must be Martha. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said it all in near perfect English.

Martha wasn't expecting the greeting so was a little taken aback by it. "Vice Chancellor."

"Please have a seat. I'll get right to the point since you have little time." She sat down and waited for the others.

"Why do we have little time? I thought we weren't leaving for another three, almost four weeks yet." Alexis didn't see the need to hurry.

"I was informed that Jackson and Katherine have been given clearance to land. They've also requested a cargo train to meet them along with a quarantine team." She hadn't been expecting that and her curiosity was starting to mount.

"Quarantine?" Alexis didn't understand the need for that at all. Unless… "Did they bring someone with them?" She couldn't imagine who that would be. Everyone was here.

"I'm sure we'll all find out in due course. Now as to why I called you here." She got up, picked up a pad from her desk, and returned to her seat. "We've come to realize that a city that will hold thousands of people, along with all the shops you will need, and that happens to have a green roof, is going to take a lot of work. Plus you will have the islands, the _Valley Forge_ and its domes along with, I'm hearing, the roof of your own home in addition to the interior of the boat house." She had only just learned about the boat house and the house itself.

"It will definitely keep us busy." Rick was thinking far too busy but it beat the alternative of trying to keep a tiny garden alive surrounded by concrete back on Earth.

"Perhaps far too busy, I'm guessing. So I've arranged for some help." She activated the pad and handed it to Alexis. "I've arranged for a family to help you with the work. She recently lost her husband and could use the work. Her daughter is a little young so you will need to teach her."

"I think I've seen these two before." Alexis started to rack her brain to remember where.

"Excellent, then they should fit right in. I'm thinking that they will be housed on the _Valley Forge_ until such time as the city has completed construction and they are issued quarters. I'm told the _Valley Forg_ e has four bedrooms even though only three were ever used." She thought it was perfect.

"Perhaps you can start the daughter by teaching her how to care for the domes. I'm sure all of you will be needed once planting starts. She's young so she might like learning about Earth plants and wildlife. Which reminds me…" The Vice Chancellor got up yet again to retrieve something from her desk.

"These are passes that you and Katherine will need to gain access to the _Valley Forge._ The contractor is on schedule but you will probably want to see what he is doing as well as tend to the domes. I can get another pair of passes for the daughter and her mother, if you wish. Their names are on the pad. They will need to be transferred to one of the bedrooms in a few weeks. They can start learning now, I suppose."

She had talked to both of them to offer the mother the job. That meeting had lasted a lot longer than Pruitt had thought once she learned that the mother and her daughter had already met Katherine and that the two of them were teaching each other their home language.

Alexis read their names. "Victoria and Stephanie Vandoorne." It explained why Kate was calling the little girl Steph.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick, Martha, and Alexis were stopped at the gate and forced to wait for Jackson and Kate to begin walking off the base. Each got to wave at the others and wait until they crossed the line before getting hugs and kisses until both remembered Alexis, who got hugs and more appropriate kisses.

"Parents?" Rick asked Kate as they walked to the train.

Kate smiled tiredly. "Still on the ship. A little dirty but none the worse for wear."

"You're a good man, Jackson." Martha gave him another quick kiss.

"Why did you need quarantine?" Alexis asked since she couldn't imagine why. "Who did you find and bring with you?"

"More what than who," Kate began to reply. Then she saw the look Alexis was giving her and started to laugh. "I found a pair of puppies and–" She interrupted Kate.

"PUPPIES! What kind?" Alexis knew she wasn't going to get to see them until they were out of quarantine. She showed that she was thrilled with this news.

Kate wasn't really certain herself. "Well they're pretty young but they look like collies of some type. I mean they're black and white and have the face of collies."

"Look like collies but are black and white." Alexis thought about that. "Likely not a collie but they might be border collies or shelties. Border collies, if I remember correctly, are thought to be the smartest dog. They also require the most work since they never tire of needing to be active. If you don't keep them active and entertained, they'll find a way to keep themselves entertained." Meaning they'd destroy what was near them.

"Boys or girls?" Rick inquired, since it sounded like Kate was keeping them.

"One of each. They were really thirsty and hungry. We stopped at a PETSMART to collect what we needed since Jackson says EVE doesn't have dogs."

"We don't. DOGS!" Alexis did a quick little dance. "You do plan on sharing?" She looked at Kate ready to rip her a new one if she said no.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Of course, we're all going to be living in the same house."

"Speaking of house. This is for you." Rick handed her a data disk just as their train showed up. "It's all about the house, the island, and the city they plan to build. The house will be done about six weeks after we get there. The city will take about a year to be totally complete and filled with people." Kate slipped it into her bag and stepped onto the train.

"They've also hired a couple of helpers to assist us with all the plants," Alexis added, knowing Kate would be shocked but happy.

"Lots of plants. The roof of the city is going to be green, the roof of our house is green, the islands are green and we have the domes," Rick said happily.

"GOOD LORD! Sounds like you two definitely need the help." Kate recalled how much time Rick had spent in just the domes.

"It's a woman who recently lost her husband and their daughter," Alexis told Kate who was already trying to think who that could be. "Victoria and Stephanie Vandoorne."

Kate stared Alexis in surprise. "NO WAY!


	20. Chapter 20

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 20**

Kate was at the pool early and was bouncing on her toes. She had spent last night viewing the data Alexis had given her about their new home as well as asking Rick questions. A lot of _OMGs_ had been spoken on her part.

That was followed by Kate making love to Rick since she had done without for four whole days, almost five. She had even wrapped her legs around him in the shower this morning and moaned out her orgasm into his ear. She still couldn't believe how much she needed him and loved him.

"KATE!" Steph had spotted her and ignored her mother telling her not to run so she could slam into Kate and wrap her arms around her. That was followed by Kate listening to her rattle on excitedly about what her mother had explained to her after their meeting with the Vice Chancellor. Only problem was Steph was speaking really fast in EVE.

Kate took her face in her hands and looked at her. "I know," Kate said to her in English.

About then Victoria joined them and was smiling broadly. She didn't speak any English except for a couple of words her daughter had taught her. "Thank you." Her English was even more heavily accented than Stephanie's was but Kate caught all of it.

"You're welcome." Kate did her best to speak in EVE and accepted something Victoria handed her. Kate looked at it and found that they were expecting to go with her up to the _Valley Forge_ tomorrow. There were even some answers preselected for her so all she had to do was point at one.

Victoria spoke in EVE and took the paper and told her daughter who started jumping up and down. "Have fun, sweetheart." On this trip, Victoria had worn her swimsuit under her clothes and joined them both.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate had gotten a hug after her swim and was still smiling after she entered their room only to find Rick gone. He'd left her a note, though. _Out with Alexis, be back by dinner._

Lunch was already over with so she only had a few hours to wait so she inserted in the data disc and started looking at their new home once again. It looked to her like the contractor was going to steal a lot of things from Earth without showing exactly what she and Rick were going to get. Still she kind of liked it. It was a nice mix of what she liked and what she was sure Rick liked. Plus he had the roof to play in.

"It's a long walk to the only pool unless we can swim in the ocean." Kate kept looking until she came across a note about there being three shuttles between them and the city being planned that was even covered but completely open to the outside. "Okay, so maybe not that much walking." The entire place sounded so fantastic. She had to admit that it was a place that Earth was likely never going to build or wouldn't for several generations yet. It only showed more dramatically just how advanced these people were compared to Earth.

Kate was still looking at everything and was presently studying the view of the city. It left her wondering just how many people they planned for when Rick came in. "How was your swim?" He closed and locked the door behind him.

"It was great. Did you know Steph and her mother are coming with us?" Kate was fishing for how much he knew.

"Yep, we got called into a last-minute meeting with Vice Chancellor Pruitt. She informed us that she'd hired them to help Alexis and me with all the plants and gave us passes so we could get onto the _Valley_ _Forge_ tomorrow with them. I need to look at the domes and start teaching both of them." He was looking forward to seeing the ship and his domes again.

"So you're going to train more tree huggers." Kate's smile told him that she was teasing lovingly.

"Can't have too many tree huggers," he grinned. "You get to come with us so you can see what the contractor's doing to your ship," he added.

"Good, they wouldn't let us stop either on our way out or back so I could get us both some clothes. It'll be nice to see what they're doing to her." Kate was now looking forward to tomorrow even more.

"We're meeting the others for dinner if you want to change." Rick would wait for her.

"I'll just be a minute." Kate popped out the data disc, shut down her screen, moved into their bedroom, and was out about 5 minutes later after freshening up a little and adding a little makeup.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

There were five of them and they only had a single armed guard as they waited for a shuttle. "Excited?" Kate asked, looking at Steph.

Alexis had to translate. But Kate didn't need a translation as Steph hugged her in response.

"This is exciting," Victoria agreed. "Have you been aboard this ship?" she asked Alexis.

"No, this will be a first for me as well. I saw some of the early designs and knew they'd started construction but I don't know anything else." Alexis was interested in seeing what her brother had been doing.

"If you'll come with me. We still only have one airlock that's accessible." The contractor had left the supply pods for now. All of them trailed behind him.

The only problem for the passengers was that just the pilot had a window to see where he was going. The others never saw anything until they went through the airlock and into the ship.

Kate smiled as she entered and Rick was interested in heading straight for the domes. The others walked very slowly as they looked at everything.

"It's old, Mom," Steph complained, unimpressed.

"It's a ship from another planet, sweetheart. They just do things differently. We need to find these domes." Victoria got her daughter moving a little faster.

"Down that way," Kate pointed as she stopped at the door to the bridge and found it sitting open. It told her that the contractor had cracked the code to open it.

"This way." Alexis took the lead and got Victoria and Steph to follow her.

They stopped at the first dome and found Rick already on his hands and knees, working. There was an airlock that kept everything in the dome in the dome and it only held two people at a time so Alexis went last.

"WOW, MOM!" Steph looked up and saw the glass domes. For an old-looking ship this was impressive.

It wasn't until Alexis entered that Rick got up and escorted them all through this dome. "It doesn't look so bad. We need to check the automatic feeders and make sure they're full for the wildlife as well as the water reservoirs," he said and waited for Alexis to translate.

He handed Steph a container, showed her how to empty it into the feeder and do the same for the water. "We have five more domes; this is your job."

Suddenly a bird flew quickly past all of them, landed at one of the feeders, and started pecking at what was fresh followed by a few more. "Birds, blue bunting, indigo bunting, and an eastern bluebird. There are a lot more, they're just hiding."

Out of one dome and into the next one, Rick showed Steph where the feeder was located and watched her do her job. She was no sooner done than she watched with her mouth hanging open as something came right up to her and began eating the replenished food. He was followed by three more that simply looked a little different. "Ebony langur, ruffled lemur, squirrel monkey, and a capybara. They won't hurt you. They've all gotten used to being here and were just babies when they were brought here," Rick explained.

"Now this dome is one that you need to be very careful in." He wasn't sure just what these guys were going to do. Plus he needed to check their feeder a little more closely.

Steph tried not to shriek but hid behind her mother's legs as they saw a young tiger come leaping out of the grass, intent on reaching the feeder and getting something fresh to eat.

Rick didn't want them to get used to being handfed so he made sure the feeder was still dispensing thawed meats and letting him take what he wanted. He was quickly followed by two more that barely looked at them.

"Tigers," Rick told them and saw Alexis smiling. She was happy that at least some of the big animals had been saved. While the big cats ate Rick led them through a tour of the dome. There were also a number of birds in this dome as well but they had a different feeder location.

Then he made his way to the pond. It looked way down to him. "Damn, it's not supposed to be this low. Tigers like playing in water." Rick took off his shoes and saw Alexis do the same.

"I'll take the screen if you'll take the piping and pump housing." Alexis climbed down into the water and found that it barely came up to her waist.

"Mom?" Steph hadn't understood and neither had Victoria since Rick and Alexis had spoken in English. Concerned, they both watched as Rick and Alexis disappeared below the water, only to come back up a little later, and then go back under.

Each time Alexis came up, she threw something out. Then both began scrambling out of the pond as all four of them saw water start flooding in, filling the pond.

Rick looked at Alexis who was just as wet as he was. "I've got some spare work suits in storage we can change into if you're not bashful or worried about it fitting you." Alexis told Steph and her mom to look around while she followed Rick. They both quickly changed and threw their wet clothes out through the airlock to be picked up later.

Alexis, Victoria, and Steph got to see the other domes and what was in them, and helped feed the wildlife.

"Do you think you can feed and water all of the animals? You don't have to be scared; they won't hurt you." Alexis hadn't seen anything that Steph needed to worry about including the tigers.

Steph nodded. "She'll get the hang of it. I've never seen animals like them or any of the plants. I noticed that a lot of them looked like they had fruit on them and what were the rows in the dirt?" Victoria understood some of the plants but the potatoes lost her.

Kate was still in her element when the others entered. "What happened to you two?" Rick and Alexis were dressed in Rick's work clothes and their hair still looked wet.

"The pond was almost dry so we had to clean it so that it would refill." Rick explains.

"Did you have fun?" Kate asked, looking at Steph and listening to Alexis translate.

Steph was nodding, a big smile on her face. "It was… **cool**." She said the last word in English.

"She has her job, she'll do fine." Rick had faith since it wasn't really that hard. Unless of course the meat dispenser broke down for too long.

"Well, they haven't made that many changes, at least nothing I can't use. They're actually pretty fast. The engineering bay is free from radiation and most of the thrusters have been repaired or replaced. They're still working on replacing the missing storage bay." Kate liked what she was seeing so far.

"We can pick up some clothes and go home then. Alexis and I have a question for Vice Chancellor Pruitt." He and Alexis wanted to get there before she left for the day.

Kate was packing a small bag next to Rick who was doing the same. She was curious. "What do you want to ask her?"

"We can't transplant plants from one planet to another. Look what happened on Earth when animals were taken from one continent to another and had no natural enemies. The same works for plants. So we want to see what they have on these plants and animals before we start working with them."

"How do they know what is and isn't edible already?" Kate understood and remembered what they were told. "Do you think they brought back samples?"

"Possibly. I'm optimistic that they're still behind an enclosed facility with an airlock. I don't think these people are that stupid. We want to get gowned up and find out what we're dealing with. Hopefully they brought back insects with them."

Kate shivered a little. "Insects?"

"Insects are mandatory in a stable environment. They move pollen, get eaten by those who in turn get eaten that eat something else. Earth has lost a fair number of animals and plants because someone or something has gone extinct," Rick reminded her.

"There are a lot more extinct plants and animals now." Kate finished stuffing her bag.

"Yeah." Rick stopped packing. "We need to check the freezers on the way out and I don't mean the food freezers."

Moments later Alexis was watching Rick open small vertical containers and saw an icy fog come rolling out. "You have cryo tubes!?" She was impressed. "What's in them?" She watched him point as he looked everything over before putting it back in and closing it. She picked up a binder, started reading, and flipping pages. "This is nice, Rick, really nice. Now we just need to find a place to put it to use." She reread it all before putting it down.

"We still lost a lot. This is only North America and mostly just land animals and plants. We got the tigers from a zoo. No more elephants, rhinos, alligators, pandas. A whole lot. Remind me again how big those islands are?" Rick was beginning to put together a plan.

" **Don't** , Rick. You know better." Alexis walked up to him and looked him in the eye. "Promise me. Don't even think it and don't think I won't turn you in if you do." She was dead serious.

Rick opened his mouth and closed it. "You're right, as usual. I just wish…"

"Earth did it to themselves then lied to themselves so that they could sleep at night." Alexis had fought everything before being dragged away by her father.

"But we do need to find those samples they probably have. We need to know what we're dealing with." Alexis was with him on that.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Vice Chancellor Pruitt was afraid one of them was just too smart. "Yes, we have samples. They're being held in a class 4 containment area."

Rick hit her with one request. "We're going to need access to those samples. If we're going to care for and maintain plants, insects, animals, and everything else that's part of that moon's biological system, we need to learn it."

Alexis hit her with hers. "You told us that you knew that several specimens were safe for consumption. There's only one way you could know that. You've had access to those samples for months, if not a year or more. You've done testing. Hopefully not on people."

Rick made a demand. "We want the test results."

"You are going to give us access to everything. You hired us to do our jobs, so you are going to let us do them," Alexis said in a no nonsense manner, fixing her with a gimlet stare.

"And don't for a second think that just because we were born on what you would call a backward world, doesn't mean we don't know our jobs," Rick added, crossing his arms.

"I've dealt with governments and other organizations almost all my life. Don't tell me that yours is just like Earth." Alexis sat back and crossed her arms, making a defiant stand.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"You can breathe now, Rick." Alexis smiled at him as they traveled by train with their passes that would allow them not only onto the military base, but into the lab where the samples were being stored. Along with orders to allow them inside at any time they requested.

"Easy for you to say. I was sure I was about to pass out." Rick could still feel his heart pounding in his ears. If it wasn't for his antiperspirant, he would be sweating profusely, he was sure of it. He was even holding tightly onto the pole as they rode.

"You did great, just like I told you." Alexis remembered coaching him on the way there. "Are you up to doing your job? We have access." The only thing that worried Alexis was that they scarcely had three weeks before they left.

"I could use a drink, but yeah. It'll be interesting to see just what this place has." Rick tried to start thinking about the job ahead.

"You take the data, I'll take the room. You always were better at reading than I ever was." Alexis smiled at him. "Just make sure they're not hiding something. Something that'll get us all killed." She paused. "They want what's on those moons, Rick. The question is this: are they willing to kill all of us to get it? You, me, Kate, Mom, Dad; any of the military that set foot on that moon we're going to."

Alexis had more for him to think about. "Once we go there, are we allowed to go back? Do the codes we get allow us to go anywhere? Or are we going to our deaths?" She'd learned to hate governments and feared she hadn't gotten away from the last one.

"Read and then reread, brother of mine. I fear Earth isn't alone and their way of thinking is prevalent."

He tried to make a joke. "How about Nixon's missing 18 minutes?" It was just that Alexis was being serious.

"That, too."


	21. Chapter 21

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 21**

Alexis was stripping off her hazard suit after working in the box that was outside in the sun all day, like it would be on the moon. She was in the airlock and hung everything up. Then she went into the next room wearing only her bra and panties and washed herself before finally stepping out where her clothes waited for her. She was tired, she was hungry, and she was dehydrated. First thing she did was pee into a cup and then finished the rest of her routine before she could leave. She had to admit that if they were lying, they were putting up a good front.

She found Rick sitting just outside the base waiting at a train station. "Hi, call the train for me, would you?" Alexis didn't really want to raise her arms to use the pad.

"What did you learn?" they both asked at the same time. Tired, they broke out chuckling.

"Ladies, first," Rick offered gallantly.

"Definitely alien plants that I've never seen the like of before. There are some insects and microbes and the soil sample is fertile. The sample was a little on the clay side but not overly so. They've even brought some water and placed it in a separate container outside of the cube the sample is in." The train came in so they got on and started their way home.

That was all Alexis had learned on their first day. "What did you find."

"You were right. They went there almost a year ago and came back with that sample in a secure glass box about four months ago. A little after they found what the other moons held.

"They've done some testing, mostly of the air and the water, and didn't find anything that would kill us. Still looking to see if anything would make us sick. They did everything in space suits and they ejected the suits out into space before going through the gate, so they were careful.

"They have pictures and names for everything they found. If I was them I'd be doing autopsies on any of the dead bodies they found, but I haven't found any of that yet. Or if they've gone on a hunting trip.

"We absolutely do **not** want to be the miners. Those moons are ugly. They don't talk about them much, just some minor notations for a comparison to this moon." Rick had read fast but still had a lot to go through.

"Do you think they're lying to us? They did mention that they want those minerals." It would be worth lying about on Earth.

Alexis shrugged. "It's too soon to tell. I need to take some better testing equipment in with me next time. Just keep reading." They were silent until they reached Rick's stop.

"Say hello to Kate and apologize for me taking you away, but we really need to know what we're getting ourselves into," Alexis said.

"Meet you at the base tomorrow morning." Rick hugged her and got off the train, watching the train take her away to her stop.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick, Kate, and Alexis parted ways two weeks later after each entered the military base. "Have fun playing in the dirt," Kate teased, even if only Alexis was actually playing with dirt. Rick was still reading.

"Do **not** break Dad's ship," Alexis retorted and just got a smile back from Kate.

"So today's the big day." Rick was almost envious of her.

"Yeah, not sure if it's a good day or a bad day. Though I do know that I'll end up in the hospital quarantine here on the base for the following 24 hours for observation and testing." Alexis felt brave enough and they were going to allow it.

"From what I've been reading, you'll be fine. They've already done some animal testing. They were planning on doing some limited human testing before we came along. It looks like our showing up delayed all that.

"Nothing happened to them so nothing should happen to you. Try not to drink the water just yet, okay? I haven't had a chance to read all of that." Rick hugged her before they each went their separate ways.

Alexis reached her site, showed them her pass, and walked inside after changing clothes. She walked through each section and straight into the glass box without putting on her suit.

At first she held her breath and then did her best to breathe normally. She didn't really feel anything yet and decided to walk the perimeter first before inspecting all the plants and getting samples for her to analyze with the equipment she had taken in one load at a time.

Satisfied, she started her work while Rick quickly read.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Jackson and Phil were waiting for her as she approached the ship. "Today is test day," Jackson announced and began walking Kate around the ship.

He started with the claws on each end of the short stubby wings and pointed. "Generators and emitters for the Chameleon system. Once fully deployed, you can cover the entire ship or you can have it cover only the front, the rear, or just the sides. Depending on what you want and why," Kate told him and watched him move on.

Jackson gestured to the two large round bump outs just behind the cockpit. "Shield emitters for the port side of the ship. There are another two on the starboard side." Jackson continued to walk and pointed at the next object she had to identify.

"Dual-barreled McKenzie gun. Basically a modified version of Earth's railgun except for the increased round size and rate of fire. Primarily controlled by the pilot. Major con being that since it fires an actual round, the ammunition storage is limited. Major pro being that it fires an actual round. Between the round itself and the kinetic energy, the impact can do a lot of damage depending on the target," Kate stated and Jackson moved on.

She watched him indicate nothing overly important so she chose two answers. "That particular section of the main hull happens to be water storage. Though water is generated continuously, it's stored in two main primary tanks, one on each side.

"That section of the hull, like the rest of the ship, is made out of Trinium, one of the three major minerals that almost all advanced items are made of. Hundreds and almost thousands of times lighter than stainless steel as well as being hundreds of times stronger. Still it's actually a composite due to the limited supply of Trinium," Kate said and saw Jackson move barely an inch and point to a golden-colored line that crisscrossed the ship and all other parts including the cockpit glass, giving the ship a kind of spider web look.

"Neutronium is one of the three minerals that are in most need and almost all local technology is based off of. In this case it's composed of densely packed neutrons. Used to bind the Trinium plates together as well as help deflect most non-material rounds from doing damage, like lasers or similar energy weapons. It can also be charged if so desired. Not sure why I would want to but it's capable of handling the power that the ship can produce and hold it for a length of time before it starts to degrade."

Jackson backed away and pointed to something else. He waited patiently for her to begin.

"The ship's main weapon. It's made from Verterium Cortenide, the third mineral that the local technology is based off of. It's a pulse weapon that in this case is not a true energy weapon but is also not a true round like the McKenzie gun. More of a hybrid. Only the military has true energy weapons. Though they're all made using the same mineral.

"One of which you told me when fired from a battleship could vaporize this ship in a single shot. Its drawback is that it's slower than a true laser yet unbelievably powerful." Kate had had trouble imagining such a weapon. She had thought any energy weapon would travel at the speed of light.

Then he had told her that only the power generated on a battleship could generate the power needed to fire such a weapon. All other military weapons, save for the close in weapons, were all plasma based and also traveled slower than the speed of light. But even they were far more powerful than any laser based weapon she could even think of.

"Not bad!" Jackson actually started to smile which made Kate feel good about herself.

"Today you're going to help Phil with the Chameleon software." Jackson raised a hand to stop her. "Even I don't really understand the software, however, he wants to pick your brain today. Start thinking up things that are roughly equal in size to our ship that he can duplicate.

"Try to think outside of the box. Asteroids and other ships that we've scanned are the most obvious choices. Today he wants more unusual things. You've watched all those Earth sci-fi movies. Describe some of it to him and help him visualize it, or just dream it up. Use your imagination." Jackson started walking away.

"And what are you going to be doing?" Kate knew that Phil had created a software routine that would translate most everything she said. It wasn't perfect yet, but it was the best they had and it freed up Jackson to do other things than translate.

"Order supplies; we're leaving in a week. We need to fill our cargo hold. Give your parents some company. Keep in mind this ship's going to be an in-system explorer for the most part. We'll be going places the military won't, can't, doesn't have time for, or can't spare the ships for. Keep that in mind while you work with Phil." Jackson just kept walking. "Next week you're going to be working on how to patch holes in the hull or replace whole plates."

For a change Kate was smiling. Her family was here, she was going to get to explore another system which was what had gotten her out into space in the first place, and her marriage was coming up soon. Things that might not have ever happened had she stayed on Earth.

Rick had been right when he had stood up to her. Her smile got even wider as she thought about what she was going to do to his body tonight when they made love. She even knew where the scarves were to tie him to the bed with. Make him beg her to let him come.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"You're cooking!" They'd gone out to eat a lot mostly because they had Alexis to translate everything for them. But it had also been so that they could see a lot of the city. They got to explore. It wasn't that she didn't like his cooking because she loved his cooking.

"Alexis is in quarantine so I stopped at a store and got things that I recognized and stayed within the budget she gave me. I hope this tastes good because I'm not really sure what some of this is." Rick kept cooking.

"Quarantine! What happened?" Only bad things came to mind.

"Nothing. She went into the box without her safety suit today. She's done her testing and I've done a lot of reading and she felt secure enough to enter without her suit. She's stuck in quarantine as a precaution. They want to do tests on her. She's the first human or alien to be subjected to what this moon has to offer or at least what little they brought home with them." Rick saw Kate relax a little.

"She'll be fine. We've found nothing to worry about. So, do you want your dinner with or without a sauce?"

Kate thought about it. "With please." She could scrape some of it off to taste test it without easier than asking for a sauce later.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate loved this time of her day. They were both naked in bed and she couldn't seem to get him any closer or have his body touch as much of hers as she could arrange.

"Did you find a dress yet?" Rick asked while placing a hand on her breast.

Kate loved it when he touched her. "Yes. Do you want to see it?" She would get up to show him if he asked, not that she wanted to move.

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought I wasn't supposed to see you in the dress prior to the wedding."

"On Earth, yes, but this is EVE or it will be whatever our moon is called, so no. At least that's what Alexis tells me. What **is** our moon called, anyway?" Kate bent her head so she could look up at him.

Rick chuckled. "I haven't actually asked that question yet. When I read about it, it was called PX-2378. We didn't discover it so I don't think we get to name it." He had an option for her though. "We can maybe name our home if you want."

"I'll think about it." She tilted her head and stared at him. "What about this tattoo you get to choose for us?" She wasn't willing to just let that go.

But he wasn't willing to tell her…much. "You'll get it at the wedding. I like it so you'll probably love it."

"Can I have a hint?" Kate was dying to know something about it, no matter how small. "Is it multi-color or just one color? How big is it? Where's it going? Please baby, tell me something." Kate pulled out the word BABY when she really loved him or really wanted to tell her something without yelling at him.

Rick moaned about her still questioning him, knowing that she was going to get it in about 7 weeks. Immediately after the house had finished construction. He moved and it also meant he took his hand off her breast; Kate instantly missed it.

She felt him lift up her left arm. He used his fingers to show her where and about how wide it would be. "It will go here, is about this wide, and as for the color, you'll just have to wait. You'll also have to wait to see what it looks like." He was willing to wear it; so should she.

"So it's a bracelet." That helped Kate to visualize it and she was willing to accept a permanent bracelet. She was really afraid he was going to put it in a place that she was going to hate.

She'd feared one possible location but her brain had told her that he didn't have pussy lips. She had feared a lot of places but her brain had also told her that the tattoo was a replacement for a ring. It had gotten her to start looking at all the people she met to try and spot a tattoo.

She had seen one on Victoria but didn't know enough EVE to ask her about it. Hers was on her chest, just at the beginning of her cleavage. She hadn't wanted to seem to be staring at it so she wasn't sure just what it was. It was relatively small, though. If that was what it was she had to admit that when men looked they would know she was married. Kate also wondered what would happen now that Victoria's husband was dead. What if she married again?

"I can live with that." Kate rolled over until she was on top of him and then straddled him. She placed both of his hands on her breasts then leaned down to kiss him. "Make love to me again. I love you and want you inside me." Kate kissed his answer into silence and felt his fingers start to pinch her nipples.

"Mmm, bite my nipples, babe. I love it when you touch me." She sat up and brought him with her and soon felt his lips at one of her nipples.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis got dressed in her hazard suit and left her quarantine bedroom that had a tiny bathroom. Even her food came to her though an airlock. In her suit she walked into the cleaning area, took off her suit, and hung it up before going into the next room where the other suit that she no longer needed was hanging. From there she went into the glass box.

The day was spent doing her tests and growing things. Then everything was reversed and she was back in her room only to have someone waiting for her wearing a suit. That someone wanted samples.

"I'm going to run out of samples, you know." Alexis put up with having her blood drawn as well as having a hair plucked from her head. Then the tech did scrapes of her skin starting with under her fingernails.

"If I catch something it had better give me super powers. Like the ability to read minds. Ooo, maybe what that blue guy could do. Teleport from place to place. Or maybe that blue lady who could make herself look like anyone at will.

"Or Wonder Woman. Now that would be cool. Though the ability create thunderstorms might be useful. Just so long as it's not that frog guy. YUCK! And you have no idea what I'm saying do you?" Alexis had said everything in English and just watched the lady finish taking her sample and leave her.

"Is there anything you need, Miss Castle?" a male voice inquired.

"Yeah, dinner and maybe a movie or something to read. It's kind of boring in here. And that was **not** an invitation for a date." Alexis didn't even know who was asking but was betting he was older than her dad.

"I'll see what I can do."

Alexis was bored silly by the time her dinner finally showed up. As she was retrieving it, she watched a pair of men setting something up outside of her cubicle. She found a remote with her dinner as well as a note. _All channels are available and no, this is not a date._

She laughed. She started flipping through channels until she found one she liked and ate her dinner. The sound was a little muffled thanks to her wall but she could turn it up loud enough to make out what everyone was saying.

"I don't suppose I could have a beer next time?" she asked the ceiling.


	22. Chapter 22

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 22**

It was just a little shuttle and it was full to almost overflowing, or so it felt. It held Kate, Rick, Alexis, Victoria, and Stephanie. Martha was traveling with Jackson and Phil in his ship.

None of them could see the _Valley Forge_ from where they were, however, all of them had been inside it for a short time. The last time had been only three days ago although that trip had been done without Alexis since she was still in quarantine.

Without her translating it hadn't gone quite as smoothly, still Stephanie had remembered the last trip and only needed to be shown again what to do and had done it quickly.

A different shuttle that was right behind them was carrying everything Victoria and Stephanie had been allowed to bring with them. All their worldly possessions were in one shuttle.

They also didn't get to see all of the ships that were in orbit that were going with them. It including one _small_ change that Kate had requested after consulting with Rick and Alexis.

On those ships was all the material, people, and machines they would need to build their home in only six weeks. Only now it included a fourth bedroom for Victoria and Stephanie. Initially the people in charge had planned on them living on the _Valley Forge_ while working there. Kate had fought – with Alexis's help – to get the main building redesigned a little to accommodate a fourth building. For the engineers it had been simple. They just placed it on one of the three main supports and reworked the calculations to support this idea. Kate was actually saving it for a surprise. She may hate getting surprises, but she had no trouble giving them.

They felt the docking with the _Valley Forge_ and waited for the lights to turn green.

To no one's surprise Steph was the first one through; the second person through watched her run to one of the domes. She was going to do her job. "Do you remember ever being that enthusiastic to feed the animals?" Alexis whispered to Rick; he shook his head.

"Follow me, let's get everyone settled in their rooms then I want to go to the bridge," Kate told all of them and listened to Alexis translate for her.

"That's new." Rick pointed to where cargo bay 4 was located. Mostly because that wall was freshly painted and looked different.

Victoria had feared what their room would look like. It was such an old-looking ship and while she'd been there before, it was only to see the domes with her daughter. Now they were going to be living here. Still it was a job and she intended on making it last as long as possible so she and her daughter would just have to adapt.

"This is your room." Kate opened the door for her and would get Alexis to show her how to input the code to unlock it later. "Living room, dining room. The bedroom is through here." Kate started to walk but noticed that Victoria had stopped and was looking around.

"I know it's not much and not what your used to." Then Victoria started talking.

"She says she's amazed at how big it is, that she was expecting something much smaller. Just enough space for them to sleep and store some of their things, but not this," Alexis translated.

That had Kate smiling. "I've got a secret to tell you." Kate waited for Alexis to translate. "I arranged for them to add a bedroom pod to the house they'll be building. You and Steph aren't staying up here." All of them turned to look at Kate in shock.

"You got them a bedroom? When did you do that?" Rick didn't wait for an answer, he simply kissed her for it.

Victoria was completely lost and kept looking at everyone until she stopped at Alexis who was the only one here that spoke EVE well enough to explain. "Kate says that she's arranged for a bedroom to be built on the house where the rest of us will be living. You and Steph will be living with us on the moon and not up here," Alexis told her and saw the look of surprise growing on her face as she talked. By the time Alexis was done Kate was getting hugged and thanked over and over again.

"She says–" Kate interrupted Alexis.

"I know what she's saying." She'd heard those words often enough by now. "You're welcome," Kate answered in her accented EVE.

"She wants to know if her daughter knows," Alexis relayed and saw Kate shake her head.

"She'll tell her when she finds her. Just be ready for a lot of screaming and thank yous," Alexis said after Victoria spoke.

Kate gave Victoria and Alexis the grand tour while Rick headed for the domes in search of Steph and to start work on the domes.

Kate showed them the kitchen and dining space. "All of this is Earth food so hopefully you'll like it. Rick is an amazingly good cook."

Victoria looked around. Some of it looked familiar but other things were more of a mystery. Opening one of the freezers told her that they weren't going to go hungry. "That's just a small sample; we have enough food to last us for ten years, I think. A lot of it's still in the cargo bays that we passed on the way here," Kate explained while Alexis translated.

By the time they headed for the domes they could see Rick and Steph just exiting the airlock for the dome that was farthest away. "That was fast." Kate was a little surprised and impressed.

"They probably checked on the feeders and did nothing else," Alexis was betting.

"I'll be on the bridge. Rick knows how to get there and get in." Kate started walking. She had just reached the door when a screaming Steph came flying down the hallway to slam into her.

Kate heard, "Thank you," over and over again. Kate knelt down to her level and hugged her while being hugged tightly in return. "I'm glad you like it."

Steph was still hugging her tightly. "I…love…you," Steph said to her in broken English. Kate was sure what Rick had done to her heart was all it could take. But now she was finding out just how empty it had been.

"I love you, too," Kate answered in English. She now had a reason to learn EVE and needed to talk to Alexis about how to go about learning.

"Come with me." Kate stood up took her hand in input her code to get on her bridge. First thing she did was input her code to sign in for her shift and then she went about trying to make sure Steph didn't touch anything.

They both heard the door open just as Kate was receiving a communication. Steph went to the door while Kate went to that station.

"Jackson, what's up?" He popped up on her screen.

"Just letting you know that your tug will be arriving soon and to let you know that your second shuttle has left you. Hopefully after unloaded everything." Jackson had called for several reasons; those were just the first two.

"I'll have to go look." Kate was caught off guard a little by showing off her ship and forgot about the shuttle with all of Victoria's and Stephanie's personal items. "Anything else?"

"We form up into a fleet at 9:00 am tomorrow. Just let your tug do all the work and he will have your access code to get through the gate. He will then take you to the moon and put you in orbit. You're free to adjust it as you see fit after he releases you. Don't leave orbit without authorization. The military will be in charge there until the city has been built and fully occupied. You'll likely get a message from the admiral about all the rules and regulations he expects everyone to follow." Jackson was simply going to ignore those.

Kate couldn't hide her smile. "Does that include you and your ship?"

"I'm sure he'd like to think so. I'll send Phil in the shuttle to collect you and then we'll go out for a quick look-see. Get the lay of the land since this is going to be home," Jackson advised her.

"Just give me some advance notice and I'll be ready. Jackson, when can we bury my parents?" She really wanted them back where they were supposed to be, complete with a new EVE marker.

"We're clear to hit the moon 6 hours after we arrive. They'll want all of the ships that are for construction in orbit and getting ready to go down to the moon. We need to be done before they start." They couldn't be in the way.

"Got it; I'll be ready." Kate saw Jackson kill the transmission. She stepped over to the radar screen to take a peek. "HOLY SHIT!" If what was in orbit was going with them, it was a lot.

She also had no trouble seeing the massive station that was in orbit that she had never set foot on. It left her wondering what it looked like on the inside. Then she felt someone standing next to her.

"This is a lot of ships." Kate pointed to her screen and Alexis took a good look.

"Remember, they aren't just starting construction on our home. They'll also be starting construction of the city. If they expect to be completely done and occupied in a year, they need to work fast and will be sending a lot. Plus I don't know what the military will be sending. Though I'm betting we can expect an escort on the other end." Alexis had little doubt that they would get an armed escort.

"You think there will be trouble?" No one had talked to them about finding anyone on the Pegasus Galaxy.

Alexis huffed out a chuckle. "I didn't even think to ask. Just remember they want those moons so a lot of miners will be going with us. Still more ships filled with men and women and a lot of equipment. Be thankful the gate is as big as it is. I don't want to think how long it would take if we went one ship at a time."

Kate thought about it and laughed a little. "I'm glad I'm not the one that had to organize all this or keep track of all of us."

"I'd kill for a picture. We're going to put one of those _Star Wars_ fleets to shame." Alexis began to chuckle and Kate smiled since she was willing to agree.

"Tomorrow's going to be interesting. I'm going to go help Victoria and Rick move their things to their room. Have fun." Alexis left Kate in her element.

Kate looked around and felt a lot better. EVE had been nice, really nice, but she wanted to be a ship's captain and this was **her** ship. Still it didn't always have to be her ship. She could always look forward to getting a different and better ship. It was just that the _Valley Forge_ was her first so it was always going to be her favorite.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate knew everyone else was working in the domes. Mostly it was about getting Victoria and Stephanie to get used to working there. Then a little before 9:00, her communications panel started sounding off. Answering it didn't really help much. All she heard was someone speaking in EVE and none of the words he used were any of the few that she knew. "Damn it, I was afraid of this." Kate pressed a button.

"Alexis, can you report to the bridge, please. I need an interpreter." Since she wasn't sure just what dome they were in she made it shipwide.

Hearing the call button, Kate moved over to open the bridge door for her. "I'm really sorry but they're using words I don't know."

"I may have to increase my pay request." Alexis smiled widely to show that she was teasing. "Did you record it?" She was soon listening to the most recent one. "' _Valley Forge,_ prepare for tow.' Sounds like a tug is headed our way," Alexis said as Kate moved to the radar screen.

She saw a number of ships moving and did find one that was almost on top of them already. Kate looked up. "He's right above us." She moved back over to the communications panel and opened a line. "Tell them that _Valley Forge_ is standing by and ready."

Kate kept moving from station to station until suddenly it felt like they were moving. "We're under way." She could see the difference. Concerned, she checked the damage control screen to see if he was overdoing it and maybe ripping them apart. "So far so good." She was watching their progress and called Alexis over to have a look.

"That's impressive." Alexis was in awe.

"It's amazing, is what it is. Earth hasn't even launched this many ships let alone have this many." Her screen was filled with ships. Kate started working on getting a view of some of them.

"Another tug," Alexis remarked after seeing the wireframe that the ship's computer generated. "That one I don't know. Since it's towing something, it's either another tug or a mining ship that's towing his own cargo."

Kate found a big return and let the computer work on it. Alexis's eyes widened. "That's a military destroyer! I don't know a whole lot about the military. Dad would know if you want to ask him. He's probably in this mess somewhere."

Kate moved to the communications screen and adjusted her settings. " _Martha,_ this is _Valley Forge."_

Jackson replied almost immediately. "What's on your mind _Valley Forge?"_

"Just wondering where you are in all this mess and if you could explain some of the returns I'm getting. This is a lot of ships." Kate hadn't tried to count yet or ask the computer to do it for her.

"Well, let's see. There's a tug just above you. There are another 23 tugs towing a large number of unpowered ships that are nothing but cargo. There are two hospital ships mostly dead center.

"To their port are a bunch of miner ships. They're towing cargo, housing, and other equipment containers. To their starboard are all of the cargo containers and construction workers. Some will be your house while most are for the city.

"More will follow over the next few months. This is just enough to get the city started, not actually finish it. Looks like you're near the outside on the starboard side. _Martha_ is 3 ships out in front of you. There are six destroyers on the outside, spread out all over. What your radar isn't telling you is that there are 3 battleships and 3 carriers far on the outside. As well as 3 cruisers almost at the gate already and 3 cruisers that are only just now leaving orbit.

"If you pay attention enough, you'll see fighter patrols weaving in and out all over. Just enjoy the ride, we've got four days of this. Two to the gate and two after the gate. _Martha_ out."

"Remember they want those moons, Kate. Yell if you get anything more but it's probable that the excitement is over until we reach the gate." Alexis took her leave of Kate and went back to the domes.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis had been right. Kate got a communications call and had no choice but to call for Alexis yet again.

Alexis listened to the recording. _"Valley Forge,_ prepare for gate transit in 15 minutes," she translated.

Kate looked at the time stamp and the present time. Then she opened a shipwide call. "All hands prepare for gate transit in five minutes." She ended the call. "This is going to suck." Kate really didn't want to be turned inside out again.

Alexis grimaced. "I was just a baby the first time. The one I remember was when Dad dragged me to EVE. That one I remember and yeah, this is going to suck." Alexis looked for something to hold onto.

"Rick, get ready. The animals have only done this once and if we hated it, they sure as hell did, too." Kate gave him a warning in case he was with the tigers.

Just minutes later Kate watched as everything seemed to stretch out in front of her. First her hand, then her arm, then her body stretched out. The reverse happened after coming out the gate.

"GOD, I HATE THAT!" Kate exclaimed once she was sure all of her was back in one place.

"ALEXIS, I NEED YOU IN DOME 3!" Rick yelled over the comm and they could all hear Stephanie crying heavily in the background.

"SHIT!" Alexis sprinted through the doorway, down the hall, and into the airlock to get into the dome.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

It was two days to the dome but at the moment Kate was settling into their bed next to a naked Rick so that she could feel his arms around her and feel his skin next to hers.

"How's Steph?" Kate asked since last she knew of the girl was hearing her crying.

"She was just scared. It was her first time through the gate. I just didn't understand a word her mother was saying."

"Good." Kate turned so that she could face him and found his lips just a fraction away from hers. "Hold me tonight," she murmured.

She felt him brush his lips across hers and she chased after them for a moment. "Seven weeks and you'll be Mrs. Castle," Rick whispered into her lips.

Kate smiled. She couldn't wait. "Maybe we can make a baby the night after," Rick grinned into her lips.

Kate was a little surprised and then thought about it. "If we haven't already." The previous damage to her body had been repaired and they'd been having a lot of sex since then.

Startled, Rick pulled his head back. "Are you late?" He could feel his heart pounding. Was he almost a daddy?

"No. …No, I had my period about a week ago. What if I can't get pregnant, Rick? What if they didn't fix me?" Kate feared that now she couldn't get pregnant. That she couldn't have a family. Knowing was one thing, but now she had fears.

"Did they tell you that you couldn't get pregnant at any time?" Rick asked; she shook her shake her head. So he leaned in to kiss her. "Then we don't worry about it until we start questioning why. Do you want to wait? We can ask about birth control."

"No. …I mean I don't want birth control. I'm not getting any younger. If we're going to have a family we need to get started soon." Ever since she had been told she had been fixed, suddenly she could hear her clock ticking when there didn't used to be one.

"You're not old, Kate." She might be technically older than he was but she wasn't that old.

"You're sweet and I love you, but I can hear a clock ticking that I never heard before." Kate gave him a quick kiss.

"Then perhaps we should stop wasting our opportunities." Rick smiled broadly and reached down to press a finger between her lips and brush it across the hood of her clit.

Kate sucked in a breath. "I get to be on top." She suddenly felt the need to make love to him, knowing that we were both wanting the same thing.


	23. Chapter 23

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 23**

Kate watched as their tug moved them into position. This time she was ready and had Alexis on the bridge with her when a communication came in. _"Valley Forge,_ prepare for release and travel under your own power." Kate had already spent time in the engineering bay and was ready for the bridge controls to take over.

They felt the moment of separation. A little later Kate confirmed that she had control and started using her maneuvering jets to place them where she wanted them to be.

Then they both watched as a lot of ships moved into various orbits of all four moons. Their moon was the smallest and it was also the closest to the gas giant. Based on orbits, they were presently between two of the other three moons.

Kate was still looking at her radar and was watching as ships moved around. "I thought they said there was an entire military fleet already here." She didn't see any sign of them save for the military ships that came with them and she could still see the big ships except for those battleships and carriers that she still couldn't find. "They're here somewhere. They have the entire system to protect not just our moons," Alexis reminded her which had Kate humming her acknowledgment.

Kate moved to communications. _"Martha_ this is _Valley Forge."_

Jackson grinned. "Let me guess – you're anxious to go down and see your new home."

"Bring over your shuttle. I'll gather everyone up and meet you at the airlock," Kate answered with a smile and closed communication.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"You must be Stephanie." Jackson was all smiles as he met her. "Do you want to help me fly the ship down to the moon?" He was willing to put her in the copilot's seat.

Jackson took it easy on her but didn't miss seeing her smiling from ear to ear. He triggered the internal communications. "We're going to have to skip one of the islands. There is a storm over it at the moment. The other island might be a little wet but not bad. Hang on back there."

They all felt the ship bouncing as they went through the atmosphere. Moments later it all stopped. Jackson's voice rang out as he saw a little rain hitting his glass cockpit. "Grab your umbrellas and open the ramp. We're home!"

"Where are we exactly?" Kate looked around. Behind her were nothing but trees that had a strong resemblance to palm trees. She was standing on sand with the ocean just right there.

"This is the only beach, so southeast. I was kind of hoping a little for fewer trees. Our contractor has got his work cut out for him." Alexis looked around with the others.

"If I remember correctly, the northern end has a lot of rock and even some height to it. Where's the house going?" Rick queried.

Alexis walked out into the water a little. "The city's out there." She waved her hand to the southeast. "We're going to be northwest. Pretty much the exact opposite." Then she repeated what she'd said in EVE for Victoria and Stephanie.

"With that covered road between the two. You know, they may have to blast on the other end," Rick commented.

"A tunnel would be cool." Alexis started smiling at a possible design change now that they saw it.

"So we don't get a beach." Kate was a little dejected. Yes, she'd seen the plans but hadn't really thought about that.

Alexis shook her head. "This isn't going to be the only beach, but it's the only existing beach. They plan on building a sand peninsula for the city to sit on. They're going to get the sand from the ocean bottom out there and spray it into place. Then build on that. It'll have a beach all around it. Except for that, this is it."

"Waste treatment for the city will be out there somewhere." Alexis pointed inland of the island. "Ocean water will be converted to drinking water. It and we will create its own power, and once all the plants are in place, it's expected that the moon, with the help of the domes, will be self-sustaining save for the meat which will have to be shipped in. Except for what they find out in the ocean once the fleet's in place."

They were all spread out when the skies opened up on them which had them running for the ship. "There may be a short delay in construction," Rick speculated while looking out at it all.

"Probably not. You haven't seen what they plan on using once they get it all down here. The first to go will be a lot of these trees so the contractor has a place to work." Jackson had seen them work when he was little. "Trust me, rain or shine, tomorrow is a work day."

"What do you think, Martha?" Jackson inquired.

"I'll like it better once it's done." Martha looked out past everyone and watched the rain pour down.

Stephanie pulled on Kate's top and started talking once she had her attention. Alexis translated for her. "She wants to know if there will be a pool like home."

Since she knew the plans, Alexis began to answer her. "It's going to be just like the one you were using except this one is going to be inside a glass pyramid that has its sides filled with plants. Instead of seeing sky you'll see plants. The final pool will be an ocean inside the pyramid." Steph positively beamed at that.

Since there was nothing else to do, they went back up to the _Valley Forge_ to wait it out.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Everyone else was back in the domes the next morning except for Kate, who was on the bridge. A blinking light got her attention and she stepped over to the radar station. "Jackson wasn't kidding." Kate watched as a number of shuttles left ships in orbit and headed for the islands. A few, she was betting, actually landed on water.

"Breakfast," Rick announced after entering the bridge.

Kate came over to join him. "Thanks, babe. …A breakfast burrito?" She wasn't ready to touch it just yet.

Rick took umbrage. "I'm not mad at you so I didn't put anything extra in it this time. And I only did it once! Now if you'll excuse me I have to go cook for the others. Find out what Victoria and Stephanie think of an Earth breakfast this time." He'd tried not to be overly offended when one or both of them had rejected something he'd cooked. He had to admit that there was a variety of things on EVE that he wasn't fond of, either.

"They liked most of it. You'll do great." Kate gave him a quick kiss to his cheek and started eating. Taking bites between checking her various screens, she wondered what the contractors were doing.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

It was a week later and all of them were waiting eagerly at the airlock for Jackson and Martha to show up. The storms were gone and the contractor had had a week with which to work and they were dying to see what he had already accomplished.

Martha gave up her seat to Stephanie and thankfully, the ride wasn't nearly as bumpy this time. They had to land someplace else this time so as not to interfere with the contractor. Still each of them were eager to go down the ramp and look out. "HOLY COW!" Rick was beyond impressed. "The trees are gone." In their place was a lot of equipment.

Then they saw the road that was to be the their road The cars were to ride on air so there were no rails, however, the road was already in place and smooth. They had even started work on the canopy over it. The roof supports looked to be only on one side, though as yet there was no canopy in place.

"You think that's something, come take a look at this." Kate had gone south a little.

She soon had everyone joining her and watched as three streams of sand came arching out from three barges. It looked like they had already formed most, if not all, of the peninsula that the city was going to be built on. Even the road stopped at the edge of the sand, waiting for completion. What they couldn't see was the underground piping that led out to the underground sewage treatment plant that was already in place.

They were still mesmerized by the sand when suddenly a big machine came down the road and out onto the sand. It seemed to effortlessly lift up this monstrous column and plunge it down into the sand and then started pounding on it. It soon stopped and retreated to get another one. They watched as a man connected the new one to the old one and let the machine pound it into the sand.

"Pilings for the city, I'm betting. Probably the first of hundreds," Jackson surmised.

The sound of air being blown had them all turning to look. "Is that?" Kate wasn't sure. Then Stephanie began to talk quickly.

"She says she's seen pictures in school. It's what was built before they had flying trains," Alexis explained.

"So that's our cars?" Kate wanted to go see. "You think it could take us to see our home?"

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

It took some convincing but as soon as a second set of cars arrived, they were allowed to use this set. Their cars was actually looked like miniature bullet trains except they didn't have a roof. They were all open. Each car sat two people side by side and had a very small amount of cargo space behind them.

It actually had a bed behind the two seats that could be used to haul cargo. It was explained that so far only three cars were down. The system was completely automated or was going to be. For the moment, though, it required a driver. So only the driver, Kate, Rick, Alexis, Victoria, and Stephanie got to go first. He would come back to get Jackson and Martha.

It turned out that Alexis had actually gotten her wish as they raced through a tunnel that almost completely enclosed them in glass. "This is cool!" But it was short-lived and lasted maybe 50 yards.

However, the second they exited they could see their home almost right in front of them.

"WOW!" Kate couldn't believe it.

Victoria and Stephanie were soon talking and pointing.

"So this is home." Rick couldn't believe it. They'd said 6 weeks but still this was amazing. All three columns were standing strong and all of the outside walls of the main building were already in place, complete with glass. The framing for the roof stood above everything; the sheathing was in place and the roofing membrane was sealed.

"Stephanie thinks she can see the glass pyramid beyond," Alexis said which had all of them moving around to get a better look. "I think she's right. It looks like they're building the pool at the same time."

It was farther out to sea than the house but they didn't see a way out to look at it.

As they watched, four machines none of them had ever seen before showed up on the roof of the main house and started building one of the bedrooms. Other machines showed up with parts and while they watched, the skeleton structure for a bedroom was formed.

"OH MY WORD!" Martha had shown up.

"Come see, Mom." Alexis pointed at the bedroom. "They built that just in the time that we've been here."

They all watched as those machines moved away and started building another bedroom just as another two machines showed up and began building interior walls, floors, and ceilings of the first bedroom.

"Six weeks." Kate couldn't believe it and just stood there amazed.

Four hours later they were leaving to go back to their shuttle and back up to the _Valley Forge._ In that time they had watched the shells of all four bedrooms being built followed by watching those same two machines build interior walls. Then along came another machine that started doing the electrical wiring.

Even more amazing, if that was even possible, they watched three machines start to build the main tube that was in the middle that was meant to go down to the building that was going to be underwater.

They watched as the elevator went in along with a set of spiral stairs before being enclosed by another machine that used glass. They all disappeared down into the water.

All of the supplies for it all looked to be coming from barges that were sitting out on the ocean as machine after machine came and went. Only very rarely did they ever actually see a person.

They peppered the man that drove them with questions. By the time they started to get into the shuttle to go back up they had learned a lot.

No, not all of them were automated. The more repetitious the task, the more likely it was that that machine was automated. The rest were either manned or done by remote control by someone still up in one of the ships.

He had explained the timeline for the house and pyramid and pool. The main frame of all of the buildings would be done in a week and a half. A few days to completely enclose each building. Another few days to put in all of the electrical, plumbing and environmental systems. This would be followed by finishes that would take another week and a half. The final week would be touch ups and preparing for the planting of the plants.

It was at that time that they would begin their work and transplant plants to the inside of the pyramid as well as the roof of their home. The contractor would help with transport but the actual planting was up to them.

He had called it practice for when the city was done since the size of its roof was several times what their roof and pyramid combined would take up.

"We're going to be busy, little brother." Alexis couldn't wait.

"You think we could get them to build us a few B units to help us? Someone has to do repairs after a storm. Help with general maintenance. I don't know about you but I have no idea how that elevator works or what they use for plumbing or electrical or environmental." Rick saw trouble in their future.

Alexis quickly agreed with him. "I'll make a call and see what they have planned." If they weren't careful they could find themselves in way over their heads.

Then a thought hit her. Alexis yelled to him from the back. "DAD, can you stop at the other island? We haven't even seen it yet."

They were soon outside standing on the other island. "Looks like the contractor has already been here."

This island wasn't nearly as big and based on the pictures they had seen of it, it didn't have that many trees to begin with. It didn't look like any of them had been removed. And all of the flat land looked ready for transplanting.

Rick glanced at Alexis. "Maybe we should ask if we can start here. Start taking plants from the other island and moving them here. We're going to need a boat."

"Two things to talk about during the call. I'll see what I can learn," Alexis answered and gazed out at where they would be working soon.

"They're building us a boat house, there have to be boats…right? Not just fishing boats." Rick began kicking himself for being so unprepared.

"We need to start our work on our island. We need to gather what we need. We need to find the contractor and start working." Alexis headed back to the shuttle.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

The next day Rick, Alexis, Victoria, and Stephanie started their work. They were given some of their tools and containers to put plants in and were told that a boat would be brought down for them to use tomorrow.

Rick knew what to do while Alexis had to show and explain it all to Victoria and Stephanie, then kept an eye on them at first to make sure they were doing it correctly.

Alexis was still working when Stephanie showed up. "Kate?" Alexis sat back to see her and Victoria.

"She's hungry," Victoria told her and watched Stephanie demonstrate.

"RICK!" Alexis hollered at him, "LUNCH!" She turned to the Vandoornes. "Just follow my brother. We came prepared. Have you had a picnic before?" Had either of them been to that park?

Alexis listened to Stephanie explain everything she knew about that park and followed Rick after he showed up. "She really likes it here. I can't thank you enough for this. You and Kate have been more than generous." Victoria had no idea how she was going to thank them.

"She's cute and Kate loves her. We're glad to help and we could really use your assistance. This island alone is going to keep us busy. Add the other island, the pyramid, and the roofs, and we're going to have more to do than we can keep up with.

"Can you bring me my lunch when you come back?" Alexis asked and went back to work after Victoria left.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate teased the lot of them since they were all dirty. "Looks like you four had fun. You had a delivery while you were gone. If you'll follow me?"

She took them over to a container and opened it so they could see. "Meet B8, B10, and B12." They were what looked like duplicates of their B units. "They left you this." Kate handed it over to Alexis. "I can't read it."

Alexis took the pad and held it low enough for Stephanie to read it as well. "Mama?" Stephanie read it but didn't really understand it.

"They're maintenance droids for the house. It also talks about the planting droids that we'll find on the second island to help us plant tomorrow. And it says these guys are active and can work via voice control in addition to pad." Alexis liked it and handed the pad back to Kate. "B8 activate." The smallest of the three lit up and worked his way out of the container.

"Say hello, Steph," Alexis said.

"Hello," Stephanie timidly said in EVE.

"Greetings, Miss Stephanie," B8 answered in EVE.

"It talks!" Kate didn't know that.

"At your command, Captain," B8 replied in English. That really had Kate's eyes opening wide in surprise. She went over to one of the comm units on the wall. "B2 report to airlock L4."

They all waited and watched as B2 rolled down the hallway to stop in front of Kate. "How can I help?" B2 responded in English.

"NO WAY!" Kate stood there gaping at him.


	24. Chapter 24

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 24**

It was time. They were all packed and waiting almost an hour early before the first shuttle was scheduled to arrive at the airlock. "What time is it?" Rick asked.

"Ten minutes later than the last time you asked, Castle, and if you ask me again I'm going to leave you here," Kate threatened. Then they heard Stephanie ask Alexis something in EVE. After Alexis replied in EVE, Steph clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled. Both Victoria and Alexis smiled. Rick had switched to walking up and down the hallway to pass the time while the rest of them talked softly which had Alexis doing most of the talking since she was the only translator.

Then Kate felt it; she looked after she saw the green lights. "The first one is here," she announced and started checking the airlock before opening it.

Jackson poked his head out. "Ready to go, ladies? You can leave your things, Phil's right behind me with another shuttle. ...Where's my son?" All he saw were the females.

Kate yelled down the hallway, "CASTLE! IT'S TIME TO LEAVE!" Rick immediately came running their way.

Stephanie went up front only to find Martha sitting in her seat. Steph didn't say anything but Martha saw the look on her face after seeing her. She knew Steph didn't hate her so she assumed something else. "You can have my seat, sweetheart." Martha got up and patted the seat and watched a smiling Steph climb onto it, sit down, and start paying attention to what was outside.

It was easy to see what Martha had done and she got a quick, "Thank you," in accented English from Victoria.

"She's a sweetie. Makes me wish I'd had another one." Martha folded down the last seat and buckled up. Her husband's ship had a more sophisticated restraint system. However, this was a standard shuttle so things were a little more simple.

The ride wasn't bumpy and when suddenly the space was lit up by sunlight and blue skies, it told them they were getting closer.

"I wonder what it looks like?" Rick saw the looks he was getting. "Yes, I know what the buildings look like and I know what we chose for an interior. I just wonder what they changed but didn't tell us," he explained. He was thinking Value Engineering again or just flat out being lied to.

They all felt the landing. Jackson called back to them, "You can open the ramp." Then he started shutting everything down.

They all gathered at the bottom of the ramp before Alexis walked to the glass railing to look down. "We're on the roof! The very center of the building. I can see the glass roof area and all the planting area under it and beyond. Even the bedrooms are ready for plants."

Everyone joined her at the railing as they looked things over. To their left was the ocean and the glass pyramid; to the right was the rocky area of the island. Just in front was one of the bedrooms and its green roof.

"This way ladies…and son," Jackson called from the shuttle. They all joined him as he moved to the front of the shuttle where they saw a small building. "Elevator," Jackson said and pressed the panel to call it. It was spacious despite the look of the building and just fit everyone. There were four panels to press and Jackson chose the one located under _Roof._ The others were marked as _1, 2,_ and _B1._

Stepping out, they were all taken aback as they looked out. There was a glass railing that was curved and they could see either open rooms on the outside or doors. All of them went up to the glass railing. "OH MY!" Martha was beyond impressed. It was open to the main living area below that looked to be divided up into three different sections. There were no walls. The furniture was simply arranged into different areas.

The floor was wood that seemed to shine from being so clean. It looked like natural wood, complete with the imperfections and rough areas. It wasn't a golden color but it was light in tone. Above them was nothing but glass save for the landing pad.

"MOM!" Stephanie wanted permission.

Victoria knew just what she was asking. "Do not leave this level." She shook her finger at her daughter; Steph squealed and ran off to look around. That her daughter was so happy made her smile. It also caused her eyes to start watering. It was all due to these people who had taken them into their family.

They went right and started to explore this level.

The upper level contained an exercise room complete with a full set of EVE equipment. And there was also a library on the same level that actually had a few real paper books. Mostly it was just a small reading room that had pads scattered around the place. This room was filled with wood. The same wood floor, a darker wood wall and a medium wood ceiling. The lighting looked to be positional.

They found a glass door that led outside. The space was actually large and took up maybe a quarter of the entire second floor.

All of them spoke at roughly the same time. Most in English and one in EVE. "WOW!"

"MAMA!" Stephanie was already here; she raced over to her mother, took her hand, and dragged her over to something sitting on the floor that had stairs leading up to an elevated level next to it. "Mama, it's a pool!" Steph climbed up and easily lifted up the cover to expose that it held water. She knew it was small, but it was still a pool to her.

Kate and Alexis joined them and Kate lifted the rest of the cover off. "This has Rick written all over it." Kate knew she hadn't asked for it.

Alexis was smiling softly. "A hot tub!" She could see long hours using this thing after spending time planting the soon-to-be green spaces.

 _• Perimeter LED Lighting system LED waterfalls illuminate a solid sheet of water in synchronization with the main LED system_

 _• 72 Resistance jets and 2 profile aligning jets_

 _• Unique "W" stream design provides additional buoyancy for comfortable yet challenging swimming_

 _• 4x4HP Powerful pumps_

 _• 200 Square feet of filtration with 24/7 water UV ozone water purification system_

 _• Puts out 200 gallons per minute_

 _• Number of seats: 6_

 _• Manufacturer provides 2 year warranty_

 _• Maximum Occupancy: 12_

 _• Wall Type: Hard wall_

 _• Primary Material: Acrylic_

 _• Maximum Temperature: 104 Fahrenheit_

 _• Assembly Required: No_

 _• Installation Required: Yes_

 _• Shape: Rectangle_

 _• Product Warranty: 2 Year_

 _• Ozonator Included: Yes_

 _• Waterfall: Yes_

 _• Stereo Included: Yes_

 _• UV Resistant: Yes_

 _• Number of Jets: 72_

 _• Cover Included: Yes_

 _• Insulated Cover: Yes_

While these four were examining the hot tub and reading the material left behind that explained it, Martha sat down in front of a fire pit and relaxed on the comfortably padded loveseat. Jackson looked over the fire pit. "I think it uses a gas. It's a real fire but it doesn't burn wood." He found the panel, pressed it, and watched as fire whooshed into being .

Rick was alone but he hadn't noticed as he walked over to a grilling area. He found an empty refrigerator. There was a double bowl sink and something that looked like a dispenser for a liquid of some kind. He opened a door below it and found that a vessel could be placed there and then connected to the dispenser. It was even cold inside. "Holy…A KEGERATOR!" He had to wonder who had asked for that since it hadn't been him.

There was also a fair amount of preparation space. Not far away was a dining area that had an umbrella over it that was presently closed.

Little by little they got back together and found seats around the fire pit that Martha and Jackson had never left. Stephanie actually got out of her chair to hold a hand up against to fire just to make sure it was real. "What's this for?" It was pretty but it had to have a reason.

Alexis answered for Victoria. "Smores." Alexis couldn't wait. "Graham crackers, chocolate, and melted marshmallows. …If EVE has marshmallows." She couldn't remember ever seeing them.

"Smores?" Stephanie repeated it in English even though Alexis's explanation hadn't explained a thing.

Jackson turned the fire off and they went back inside since they had more to see. Martha commented on what they were walking around. "I like the tiles." That had everyone looking at the floor for the first time. The overall tile looked to be small dark gray tiles, maybe 9" by 9". However, each area had its own tile. The fire pit seating area had large 24" by 24" tiles that were navy blue, light blue, orange, and green.

It reminded Alexis and Rick of throwing a rock into a pond. That would be the navy blue dot in the middle. Out from that came waves of light blue, orange, navy blue, and then green. Each wave was consecutively larger.

The hot tub area had navy blue with white stars that allowed each star to touch the one next to it.

The outdoor cooking area and seating area was different still. It was based on varying sizes of squares or rectangles that were based in white, navy blue, light blue, and dark orange. A pattern was imprinted on top of that in gold. There were two different patterns.

The glass doors opened automatically for them as they came up to them. "I don't remember it doing that." Kate had been to interested on what was outside.

They found a pair of storage rooms complete with shelves each behind a door that were side by side that looked to be lockable. "Maybe there's one for each of us?" Kate shrugged; their placement wasn't all that useful.

The next room over was almost as large as both of those rooms combined. It was just that this room was filled with wood shelving in the form of Xs and it had its own refrigeration system. It even showed them what the temperature was.

Martha's eyes open wide. "It's a wine cellar!" She was in love. Sadly it was empty.

They found two sets of spiral stairs that started on either side of the elevator that joined to gather half way down behind the elevator only to split again and lead downstairs.

"WOW!" Everyone stopped at the bottom of the stairs. This entire floor was completely open. No rooms, no columns, and no walls.

There were a number of doors along the outside walls, some of which they were betting led to bedrooms; what the others led to was not yet known.

They spread out to look around. Rick went straight across the middle, bypassing the furniture and heading for the kitchen. It was quite large even to him. The back wall was all glass and had no upper cabinets of any kind.

There was a double compartment sink on the outside wall, two dishwashers, one on either side of the sink. All the storage was below the counter.

Getting into the kitchen wasn't all that easy since he had to go around a huge curved island – that mirrored as the building's shaped – that he was guessing was between 10 feet to 12 feet long. The kitchen countertop on the outside was even longer.

"Where are the refrigerators and freezers?" There was nothing that was even as tall as he was. He opened lower cabinets where he found a wine cooler, four refrigerators, and four freezers and that was just on the outside wall.

The inside cabinets looked to be all storage for food and where all the cooking would take place. Each end of the island had a small sink with a faucet.

The back cabinets were all a dark wood similar to the color of the library upstairs. While the back countertop was a simple white made of a material he didn't recognize, the center island countertop was a light green glass and looked to have lights under it that gave it a glow.

Kate had stepped over to the dining room area where there was a large table that could easily seat 12 people. To Kate it looked to be made from two different trees that had been glued together down the middle. It had a live edge on each side and was very rough looking. It was even irregular because of the tree.

All the chairs were white with stainless steel legs. The legs of the table were also stainless steel and looked a little too slender to her thinking. Kate ran her fingers down the length of it and found it to be completely smooth.

Martha and Jackson wandered around each of the three living rooms. Every one had different furniture though the floor was the same wood floor as upstairs.

The first one had a pair of wood coffee tables, sofas with colorful variation of green leaves for covers. There were four side chairs in a dark green. All the furniture had a handmade look to it. Like it had been made using tree branches that had been sanded down and made smooth.

The next space had an enormous white sectional with light gray and peach pillows in addition to the pillow back look. In front of it were two small circular coffee tables that looked to be made from rattan. In addition there were four chairs made from the same rattan that had white cushions.

The next space had a large coffee table that had a glass top and a large base that looked to be made of gray lava logs. The main sofa was large and a darker green with white stitching. The sofa had soft end seats that were white with a large green leaf pattern on them. Their were two side loveseats that were white that had a lovely orchid plant for a print. Green, orange, and red looked to be the dominant colors. The floor here had a soft beige area carpet instead of the wood floors.

"I think I like this one the best." Martha settled down in one of the loveseats and watched as her husband sat down next to her and slipped his arm around her. Martha sighed contentedly and leaned into him.

Victoria sort of followed Martha and Jackson from living room to living room while keeping an eye on her daughter as she ran from door to door. She would disappear behind one door for a couple of minutes before she came chugging back out, only to go to another door.

That door had Stephanie charging out of it in search of her mother. "MOM, COME LOOK!" She was sure she had found what she was interested in and dragged her mother through what looked to her like an airlock door.

Alexis, meanwhile, was walking around the outside glass wall to see everything outside. She found two balconies and explored each of them quickly before moving on. It was only when her eyes landed on the view of the glass pyramid that she stopped.

It was massive and was made of a silver colored material and a tremendous amount of glass. It was what she saw next that had her moving to a door that resembled all of the other outside doors. It looked a lot like an airlock door. Outside she found a third balcony and while that was worth looking at, it was the door in front of her that had her attention.

Opening it she saw a glass-enclosed elevated walkway that went straight out to the glass pyramid.

The door closed behind her as she started down the walkway. She didn't notice if it went up or down or was straight and level. When she reached the other end she saw a walkway that led off either direction and saw an elevator in front of her. She chose to go right first for a few feet.

"OH - MY - GOD!" It was completely exposed to the interior. The walkway was barely 2 feet wide but in front of her was a three foot wide space filled with dirt. Just beyond was a glass railing. Behind her was glass. She also felt a substantial draft. She was guessing that there were fans somewhere but she didn't see them.

But what took up all of her view in front of her was the three level pool. It came up just short of the very top and looked to be just as large as the one on EVE. From where she was standing, it dumped you into the ocean inside the pyramid. "WOW!" It was even filled with water and ready to be used. "How do you reach the top?"

Looking up, she saw the next level that was all glass until she reached the top that looked to be open to the sky. It was here that she saw a pair of large fans that were presently spinning. Around them looked to be simple openings.

She went back to the elevator and pressed the panel for the ground floor. The elevator was even all glass as she watched it go down. It was in there that she saw a level marked POOL. "Darn, no tubes. That was part of the fun." They'd obviously made a change.

Once at the bottom it opened and all she saw was concrete and water. The wall in the distance looked like a mural that was all bubbles. Then her eyes landed on a boat. "We have a boat!"

She walked toward it and down the dock until she could find a way to get on her. It wasn't a yacht to her way of thinking, but it wasn't all that small either. "It's a pontoon boat." Alexis spotted the three pontoons. One down the middle and one to either side. "It has a slide!"

She saw a ladder leading up to a second deck with a slide off the aft. Downstairs she found the cockpit with a seat for one. Behind that was a curved seat that could seat three. The other side had a table that could seat two people.

Forward, she found a large U-shaped area that could seat a lot of people. It also had a retractable canopy over it that was black while the boat itself was mostly a dark blue. There was a door far forward in the middle with seating to either side and one to the side opposite of the cockpit.

She climbed up the ladder to find a small seating area that had a table and access to the slide. "No cover?" She found a tube that was secured in place and opening it, she found a canvas that she was guessing could be stretched across the top if needed.

She went back down to the dock and stretched to test the water. She found it was a little warm and blamed it on all the glass. It also told her what types of plants could be planted in here. "How do we talk to each other?" It was a long way from here to the house.

Walking back to the elevator, she found a clear panel standing there with various panels in EVE that she could touch. She chose the one marked **KITCHEN**. "Anyone there?"

Rick was still in the kitchen and heard Alexis but had no idea from where. The walls were all windows so he searched the island countertop until he found something glowing a different color. "Alexis, where are you?"

"Pyramid. We have a boat! It's a good-sized pontoon boat and it has a slide." She didn't see a motor like Earth boats but didn't doubt that it had one.

He wanted to see. "How do we get there?"

"Balcony, through one of the doors. There's a glass-enclosed walkway, then an elevator down, or up to the pool," Alexis explained.

"Don't move." Rick left the kitchen and headed for the pyramid.


	25. Chapter 25

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 25**

Jackson got a signal and read it. "Looks like our luggage has arrived as well as Katherine's parents. As comfortable as I may be, shall we go see our room?" He kissed the side of Martha's head and helped her get up.

He'd seen his son take a call that he'd been expecting; he moved over to the island and looked at the its countertop. He had used it, it was there…somewhere. A few trial attempts later he found that if he placed his palm on the countertop it would light up. After pressing a couple of panels, this went out over the house's speaker system: "Everyone's luggage is on the roof if any of you care to move into your bedrooms. Katherine, your parents are also on the roof for the moment. I will arrange for them to be moved to the ground." Jackson took Martha's hand and went to the elevator with Rick right behind them.

It took a little time to sort out the luggage along with a few, "I think that one is yours," since it didn't look anything like what the person speaking had asked for.

"OH, JACKSON!" Martha had her hands pressed to her mouth and was ready to start crying. It was everything she could have ever asked for and she hadn't even seen it all yet.

The windows on the outside looked EVE modern, but on the inside they looked like wood. They were also floor to ceiling with the uppermost window having wood inserts. It was a darker wood and the ceiling had wood beams in a crisscross pattern while the ceiling was a wood that was a touch lighter. The floor was the same wood as the main area however there were area rugs placed in a number of areas.

The bed itself was quite large and looked to be built on an elevated platform. The sheets were a deep purple with a light beige comforter that had wide stripes in a pattern. The main pillows were the same color while the accent pillows were a dark red. The head board was black with large wood accents around each side. There were two oversized seating areas, each with two chairs and a small table. Over each table was a glass chandelier. Over the bed was a more rustic black domed chandelier.

Martha slowly walked everywhere until she saw an opening on one side of the bed. Stepping through almost took her breath away. It wasn't a walk-in closet. It was a _walk-through_ closet with side alcoves on either end. Like the bedroom, it was dark wood with places to hang clothes and lots of drawers to store things in. "I don't have this much clothing." She was never going to fill it.

Jackson smiled. "You can go shopping, love," he assured her.

There were glass double doors in the center of the back wall, where there was a lot of light in addition to the glass chandeliers and purpose lighting that was in the closet itself.

Through those doors was the bathroom. "OH - MY - WORD!" Martha looked everywhere as fast as she could. There was a floating vanity to either side with a vessel sink on top. On the opposite wall was a large bathtub that she was sure had jets in it. On the other end was a huge walk-in shower with heads everywhere, including the walls.

On either end were storage closets that already had towels inside them. White for her and a deep purple for him.

Each end had a glass chandelier; the vanities were black with a brilliant white top. The floor was different beige colors within a square, within a smaller square, within yet a smaller a square. The walls were a soft baby blue. The ceiling was an even softer baby blue that was almost white.

Martha walked up to the glass that was everywhere. However, the one right in front of her looked to have an etching made into it. The etching looked like an outdoor scene. There was a bench to sit on with plants on either side that formed a canopy. It was lovely enough that she wished she could sit down.

"What do you think?" Jackson wanted her to love it. He liked it but she needed to love it.

Initially Martha had been taken aback by all the wood. After living on EVE for a few short months she had started to get used to all the steel and glass. This was so totally different. At first sight, she hadn't liked the black vanities, but since everything else in the room was soft, they sort of popped.

She turned to look at him and couldn't stop the tears. This was theirs! "I LOVE IT!" They could change what she didn't totally love later.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Victoria had been resting on her bed in her room since her daughter had dragged her here after finding it. It felt good to have a space that was all hers and that her daughter was happy. They had been living in what was essentially a studio apartment. After her husband had died she had chosen to be very frugal with their money. Her bed and her daughter's little bed took up most of the space.

She had understood why her daughter had brought her down here. They each had their own space now.

She hadn't really been a fan of the main room. While she liked wood and the plants she worked with, she wanted something different to retreat to at the end of the day.

Her room was far more EVE modern than anything else in this home so far. It had black carpet with white tiny stars in it. Her large, round, white bed was up against the glass wall. Her headboard was the glass itself which in this case had etchings of clouds in it.

The opposite wall was navy blue at the top and gradually faded to a softer blue when it reached the desk that was a stark white. As the blue got softer it had white dots added to it until the blue was almost gone.

Her ceiling was white and had a large white dome in the middle with eight dark blue triangles around the side. On the opposite side of the wall with the dresser was her walk-in closet and bathroom. Both were basically standard EVE design.

She was in heaven until her daughter came running in and jumped on her. "Do you like your room?" It was a stupid question and she knew it, but she really wanted to see her daughter smile.

"I LOVE IT! COME SEE!" Stephanie was up and was dragging her mother behind her. Victoria indulged her even if all she wanted to do was just lie there and soak it all in.

She had let her daughter choose what she had wanted and hadn't interfered at all. She had tried to guide her but still she was a little surprised at what she saw.

The floor was white tile. She had a sofa, small coffee table, and a chair that was all white. The outside walls were all glass, of course, however, she had chosen to hang white drapes that were presently bundled up to either side. Under the coffee table was an area rug that was black and dark navy blue, the complete opposite of everything else.

Her large bed was actually inside a large gray frame. Her bed linens were all white. The gray continued up the inside wall until it reached the ceiling. It was there that she saw a large thick slab of gray with lights inside it.

She had a small table that was white and so was the chair. Even the accent tables near her desk were white. It left her wondering what her closet and bathroom looked like.

"A little white, isn't it, sweetheart?" She was starting to be sorry she had let her daughter have this much say in her room. Then she watched her walk over to a panel near the door and press a couple of panels. Suddenly there was a soft purple light across the glass, shining out from under her bed, up the sides of the gray panel and shining out the top of the slab that was over her bed. Even her table had purple lights. There were even purple lights framing the doorway to her closet and bathroom. Then the purple changed to navy blue, then red, orange, and finally green. Every time her daughter pressed a panel the color changed.

Victoria was sure her daughter had been pressing panels making the colors change for the last hour. "Come see." Suddenly she was being dragged through a green outline and into another room.

Her closet was to the right while the door to her bathroom was in front of them. Her closet was almost an exact duplicate of her room. It was all white and presently had green lights outlining almost everything. Next came the bathroom and it was there that Victoria feared her daughter hadn't listened to her.

Stepping in, her mouth dropped open. The glass was the outside wall and she had done nothing to it. Then Victoria saw large openings in the floor in front of the glass. To her right was a free-standing tub in white. The floor was basically a beige tile while the walls were full of murals of the outside. All plants. Her floating vanity was also white. There was a small walk-in shower that was mostly beige that varied in hue.

"Where's your storage, sweetheart, and what's with the holes in the floor?" Victoria finally asked, almost afraid of the answers.

"Out in the closet. These…," she walked over to the holes in the floor, "I'm going fill with dirt and put plants here. They'll fill the glass with plants." She spread her arms wide like a fan and was smiling, very pleased with herself.

Victoria tried to picture it. It was clear her daughter loved white. Maybe just a little too much. But she also wasn't afraid of color, any color, so it would appear. It wasn't to her taste, but if her daughter was happy then so was she. "I'm sure it will look amazing." Her bathroom anyway. She stood there and saw her daughter smiling from ear to ear. Her mother had just given her her blessing for her choices.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis stepped into her room and began smiling. It looked better than the renderings she'd been shown. The bed was presently up, showing her the large seating area that was in a large step down area right in the middle.

The main floor was black tile all around the center. Off to one side was a dark gray dresser with a black top. Two of her walls were all windows that had blackout curtains that were presently pulled back.

The ceiling was white with a number of recessed lights. Down in the seating area was a large sectional that took up three sides and was a dark purple color. It had a number of ice blue throw pillows. At the end of the sectional on each side was a black end table. The coffee table in the center was a simple black box that had a hidden storage compartment.

Up against the inside wall was a depressed area that presently held simple yet elegant glass vases meant to hold flowers. To either side were white doors that were hidden into the wall. You had to know they were there and where to push to open them.

Alexis looked at the panel next to the door and pressed one of them and watched as the bed and the platform the bed was lowered down to the floor.

The new floor was white as was the bed frame. The bed itself was mostly white with dark stripes of purple in the bedding. Looking up she saw the space where the bed itself was hidden into the ceiling.

There was a short ramp so that she didn't trip and walked to one of the hidden doors. Pushing, she opened it and saw her narrow walk-through closet. Here she had chosen all white cabinets, complete with several drawers. Instead of walking through and coming back out into her bedroom, she went straight and opened the door to her bathroom. This place was totally unique.

Her bathroom was backed up against the house so there were no windows to the outside. It was there that you could tell what she did for a living. It was full of green and lots of glass.

Opening the door showed a trail of white stone steps with a pool of water all around, then turned left that lead to a large tub. To the right was a white tile floor that had a pair of golden colored wood cabinets that floated above the floor and had a pair of white vessel sinks. They floated because they were supported by a wood column between the two. Behind them was a large hole where she could plant many plants.

Mirrors encased with a wood trim hung from the ceiling above each sink.

Opposite was the large walk-in shower that had a painted mural that showed a beach, ocean and palm trees. The ceiling of the space was white around the edge with a wood ceiling in the center filled with recessed lights. The shower itself was filled with shower heads.

"I think I'll live in this room." Humming happily, Alexis stripped off her clothes and settled down into the tub.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick had asked Kate to design the bathroom after he promised he wouldn't go all masculine on their bedroom. Right inside the door was the door to the bathroom.

It was long and narrow with white marble for the floor, the countertops, and the round walk-in shower. It was just that instead of it being white and black marble it was white and gold marble. The large round shower was half way down on the left with cabinets that had oversized sinks in them to either side. The cabinets were white. While the opposite wall had storage just inside the door that was made using really dark wood. Just beyond was a freestanding soaking tub.

"I like it." Rick kissed her cheek and they headed for the walk-in closet. This space he had totally given over to her. He had seen some of her clothes and even though they were on a space ship, she'd brought everything she owned, including all of her shoes.

It actually had two aisles to walk down. One for Rick and one for Kate. The cabinetry was an off-white with gold borders; the very end on each side were shelves perfect for shoes. Both of them got to use the middle cabinets with drawers on each side. The outside cabinets all had hanging rods at different heights.

There were two hanging chandeliers while each aisle had hanging lights. "You actually gave me some space!" Rick was amazed.

"I had a fever at the time," Kate smiled and they left to go to the bedroom. She was dying to see what Rick had chosen.

The bedroom was on the outside so the far wall was all glass looking out. In this case it looked inward to the island so the first thing they saw were the horizontal hardwood blinds that went from floor to ceiling.

The ceiling had a slight slope to it from the outside in and had exposed wood beams and a wood ceiling. The windows had a wood cover that matched the beams. The ceiling was a little lighter and matched the floor. There was a large ceiling fan and a few positional lights.

The bed was front and center and faced the windows. The frame was nothing exceptional, however, the sheets were white with a green leaf pattern while the pillow cases were a soft solid green. The comforter, while white, had a raised pattern to it.

"Nice, simple, comfortable. I like it, you did good, Castle." Kate kissed his cheek. "Maybe we can inaugurate the bed tonight. I'll set up the equipment." She moved in close and played with his shirt.

Then Jackson's announcement came over hidden speakers. "Want me to come with you?" Rick asked since her face suddenly went from soft to hard.

"Please." She really didn't want to do this alone.

"That's what husbands are for." Rick gave her a quick kiss.

Kate and Rick came out to the living room area and started looking around. "How do we get down to the ground?" They found their answer in the elevator. It could take them from the roof to ground level.

Once down to the ground they found Jackson and Martha waiting for them. "This is as per your request." Jackson and Martha got in one transport while Kate and Rick got in another and started down the road to what would eventually be the city.

About halfway there they found that the road was blocked by a machine, her parents' caskets, and a pair of workers for the contractor. "They want to know if you're ready," Jackson translated and Kate nodded mutely.

It only took minutes; the machine picked up a casket, slid it into the cavity in the wall, and then did the same for the other one. The same machine picked up what looked to be new solid granite markers that were a lot bigger than the ones on Earth. Moments later the machine was rumbling down the road toward the city, leaving Kate, Rick, Jackson, and Martha behind.

The wall was maybe 20 feet tall and made of hardened gray lava. Everyone on the road would go past this spot on every trip.

"Welcome to your new home, Mom and Dad. Please don't be upset. I promise to visit more often. It's not Earth but it's home. You should see the new house. It's amazing. This is Rick, my husband. I think you'd love him if you were here. This is his mother and father. His sister's here, too. We're all in the same place now. I've even made some new friends. Real aliens!" Kate felt her tears starting. "Maybe they'll stop and say hello. OH and I've got a new job. I get to explore the new galaxy that we're all in. Bet you never thought that would happen. …I never dreamed what Earth would do.

"Get ready to hear a whole new language and wish me luck. I think I might need it. Please don't forget to attend my official wedding. My husband made my ring himself. Now we're getting tattoos together as part of the ceremony."

Kate placed a hand next to her mouth to block Rick from hearing her. "I'm going to kill him if I don't like it." Except that he did hear her because he groaned and rolled his eyes just like Kate had taught him.


	26. Chapter 26

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 26**

Rick had Stephanie with him up on the _Valley Forge_ _,_ working in the domes while Alexis had Victoria with her, working in the glass Pyramid.

Alexis and Victoria had found a machine that had been left behind. It was small and could be picked up easily. After some trial and error, they found that it would run along the edge and plant the plants they fed it. After finishing a row they picked up the machine and their plants, went up the elevator, and repeated the process.

"This is so much better than doing everything by hand." Alexis watched the machine while Victoria loaded it.

"Just one problem," Victoria announced. "We're running out of plants." She looked down at what few she had left as did Alexis. Then both of them looked out across the way at all the rows they hadn't even set foot on yet. Plus the rows that remained above them.

"Now that _is_ a problem and we haven't even started on the roof of the house yet or planted anything anywhere else." Alexis sighed; it was proving to be a problem. The house, while nice, was a little on the hard side. They needed plants to soften it up inside and out.

"Steph has an entire wall in her bathroom that she wants to put plants into," Victoria commented.

That had Alexis thinking of her own room. She had this shelf along the outside wall that she had planned to put potted plants on. Now she was wondering just when she was going to be able to do that. It was going to soften all those hard lines of her living room slash bedroom.

"Our house could use a lot of plants. The balconies especially." Alexis started trying to think about what to do about that. A mere half an hour later they'd run out of plants to transplant; they left the machine where it was and headed for home.

"Go get cleaned up and change clothes. We need to go have a chat with our contractor before he levels our island flat. He's supposed to leave a lot of the trees to prevent soil erosion. I'm just afraid he'll go too far," Alexis said. Victoria nodded and headed to her room.

Moments later they were in one of their little _CARS_ as Alexis had started calling them since they reminded her of cars back on Earth. Just smaller and different looking.

As they traveled, they quickly went past Kate's parents that were now buried in the hillside. Alexis gave a brief wave when they went by. "Hi Johanna, hi Jim."

"When is the wedding?" Victoria asked since she wanted to make sure.

"Six days, out there in the boat house. It's why we started in the Pyramid today. I was hoping to get at least one side done before then so that they would have a little green in the background." Actually Alexis would've loved for the plants to have a missive growth spurt and start hanging over the side for the wedding, but that wasn't going to happen.

"It will be lovely. …Do we invite the contractor and the workers? What about the officers on ships?" Victoria wasn't in on the planning so didn't know just how big a wedding this was going to be.

"We've invited the contractor of our home as well as his foreman. Jackson's invited the admiral and as many of the ships' captains that can attend. A lot of the military ships, it turns out, are on the outskirts of our system on patrol so maybe not that many can attend," Alexis replied. "OH, as well as their wives and children if they're out here or want to attend."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick was on his hands and knees planting potatoes for the next harvest and paused for a moment to see Stephanie doing the same, just a little more slowly, one row over. As he observed, she was doing it correctly and looked to be concentrating on what she was doing. What he wanted to do was ask her if she was fine over there but she knew so few words of English that he couldn't. She did know one word, though. "You ready for lunch?"

Stephanie stopped to look at him. She had to process what he'd said and while she didn't know all the words, she'd caught the word LUNCH. "Please," she answered in her accented English and waited for him to move.

"Let's go then." Rick started to stand up and watched Stephanie jump up. "I don't know how you do that." He was envious; Stephanie just looked at him since she didn't understand a word he said.

Rick stopped at the comm panel inside the dome. He had an idea. "B2 report to the kitchen."

They found B2 already in the kitchen by the time they reached it. "B2, you understand English and EVE, correct?" Rick was really hoping this would work.

B2 responded in English. "Correct, Mr. Castle."

"Excellent. I need you to translate for us. I'll speak English; you translate to EVE. She speaks EVE and you translate to English." Rick didn't know how B2 did it and at the moment he didn't care so long as it worked.

"Understood," B2 replied.

Rick began pulling out vegetables and handed Steph a knife. "Cut these up into little pieces. I'm going to introduce you to Chinese stir-fry." Rick heard B2 translate.

"Chin-ease?" Stephanie did her best to repeat since there apparently wasn't an EVE word for it.

"It's a country on Earth. One of the bigger ones and a major one with all that they do." Earth had changed over the years.

"Country?" It was another word that didn't translate to EVE.

"Geography and history lesson while we cook." He could do that. "You cut while I explain." Rick went over to one of the freezers. "You want chicken or sea food?" He took out both and showed her.

Stephanie wrinkled her nose at the chicken since she didn't recognize it. The sea food, while looking different, seemed familiar. "Sea food please."

"Shrimp it is!" Rick put the chicken back. Stephanie was all set to ask what _s_ _hrimp_ was when he started his class on geography and history.

The slicing went slowly since Stephanie kept stopping him to ask questions. Rick didn't mind and answered every one of them. He was just happy that his idea of using B2 was working.

Stephanie watched him cook and was amazed since she had never seen anyone cook like this before. She watched as the oil went in, followed a little later by all the vegetables that she hadn't recognized and got stirred around. Then he added the shrimp and started pouring in another liquid.

It soon had her sniffing and listening to her stomach growling. She couldn't recognize what she was smelling but it didn't smell bad. She watched him spoon it onto little white things that had been boiling earlier. She followed him to a table where he set down the full plate, gave her utensils to eat with, followed by a glass of a white liquid.

"It's milk. It comes from a cow," Rick explained. He saw the look on her face. "Just try it. I eat your food even if I have no idea where it comes from." He wasn't going to tell her what he thought of some of it, though.

Rick was slowly eating his while he watched Stephanie taste test every single little thing including warily sipping the milk. Still she ate all of it and drank her glass dry.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"Where exactly are we going?" Kate inquired as they went from their home out into space.

"You need to learn EVE and I've found someone to teach you. Except for now you need to go to him. Maybe later he can come to you, but this is the best I could do," Jackson explained as he piloted the _Martha_ farther out into space.

Kate kept quiet but felt uneasy. She thought she was a little old to learn a new language. She'd been a teenager when she had learned a little Russian that she was probably never going to speak again since she doubted that anyone here had even heard the language.

"OH…MY…GOD!" Kate saw the ship she thought they were headed for. "What in the world is _that?"_

"That, Katherine, is one of the 11 EVE battleships that's in the galaxy as part of this fleet. Like it?" Jackson smiled broadly; even he thought that damn thing was enormous. It was beyond huge and looked like nothing Earth could ever dream up. It had what looked like an umbrella on one end that tapered down to a really thick rod and had a blunt end.

"What's…," Kate had to think about it, "the really big end that looks like an umbrella?" After all, the tapered part only started inside the umbrella and not at the edge, so that there was actually an overhang all around.

Jackson's smile widened further since he was sure this was going to blow her mind. "That's the engineering section. The main engine is dead center." He took a peek at her and almost burst out laughing at the look on her face.

Kate was looking everywhere the closer they got. She had no trouble finding all of the ship's big main weapons or what she took to be banks of missile tubes. She watched as a part of the ship opened up and glowed all around the sides. It also didn't escape her that the closer they got, the more of the view it took up and they still had a ways to travel.

It was only as Jackson began to land that she saw people walking around all over. "Is that big door closed?" Kate looked at Jackson who shook his head.

She was up and out of her seat and hitting the button to drop the ramp so that she could see. She hurried to the bottom of the ramp, looking out into space as the door slowly closed. "SO COOL!"

The inside was just what she expected. It looked military and not to her taste. Her ship at least had some color; so far this ship was mostly gold colored just like the outside. The walls so far were all gold save for the floor and ceiling. The floor and ceiling were black. After closer inspection she decided that it was the use of gold lights that illuminated the space that made it look gold in color.

Still they followed an armed soldier farther into the ship until they reached a door and stopped and waited. A moment later a rather thin, older, and balding man opened the door. He greeted him in English, "Jackson," then dismissed the guard in EVE.

"Please come in. You must be Katherine."

"Your English is excellent." Kate was quite impressed. So far everyone, even Jackson, had just a touch of an accent.

"Thank you. I actually speak several languages. I'm slowly working on my eleventh but it's slow going. I have very little access to what's actually spoken so I'm working from what has been written." It was tedious work since he wasn't sure.

"Do you have an example?" Kate was intrigued. Besides if it delayed her learning EVE it sounded like a plan.

He went over to his desk and picking up a pad, brought up a sample to show her. "This is Russian!" Kate quickly read the first paragraph to herself.

"You speak this language?" He began to wonder if he'd hit the jackpot.

"Это политический, экономический, научный и культурный центр," which translated to, "It is the political, economic, scientific and cultural center of Russia."

"I believe this is talking about the city of Moscow," she told him.

He looked at Jackson. "We have an agreement. You can come back in six hours and bring her back tomorrow." After all, he'd hit the jackpot and wasn't going to let Kate get away from him.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Martha was perfectly happy. Everyone was out of the house doing whatever. She'd had her breakfast and was sitting outside on the largest balcony soaking everything up, including the sun. She had also turned on the hot tub and was letting it warm up before easing her body down into it. It was only then that she wondered what she was going to do here. Yes, her husband and both of her children were here and that made her happy. Just what was she going to be doing? Everyone else had a job and she was an actress.

"In another galaxy surrounded by people that don't speak English!" Martha got up to see if the hot tub was ready. She decided it was ready enough. She slipped into the water and settled in.

"They don't speak English and I don't speak EVE." Martha didn't know what to do and in the end she fell asleep in the hot tub and began dreaming.

Since Jackson had left Kate with the translator he was free to go home and spend some time with his wife. ALL ALONE!

His main problem was finding her. It was a big house and he had a lot of places to look. For all he knew she might actually be inspecting their children's rooms to see if she approved.

He got lucky when the sound of water bubbling got him going outside to find her sleeping in the hot tub. His only real concern was how long she had been in this thing. "Martha?" A single touch had her jerking awake instantly. "Sorry, love, I didn't mean to startle you." He felt bad about that.

"I was having a dream," Martha explained, not wanting to lose her dream. "Jackson…baby." Jackson hung his head. She only called him baby when she wanted something special that usually meant trouble for him.

"I'm listening." She was his wife and he loved her so he would listen before telling her no.

"I want to go back to Earth," Martha began, watching his face fall; seeing that look made her sad. "Not for good," she quickly assured him. "I want you or Phil to…permanently borrow, as you put it, all of Earth's movies. All that you can download.

"Hear me out." Her husband sat down on the steps so that he was at least at eye level with her. "I speak English and I'm too old to learn a new language." Martha held up her hand when her husband opened his mouth. "I know my limitations.

"Everyone has a job…except me. I'm an actress who only speaks English surrounded by people that don't. I was thinking that maybe I could open a cinema when the city's completed and yes, I know that will be about a year from now." Martha hesitated for a moment then shared her dream. "I was thinking of showing only Earth movies. Something EVE has never seen before. I just need to work out the language difference. Provided that you agree and can get the movies."

Jackson thought about it. "Getting to Earth means I need a reason to go so that I can get a code. I'm not sure your request for movies is going to be enough. As to actually getting there, the _Martha_ can get us there again. We can take Phil. He can hack anyone he can find and download all you want." Jackson only saw two problems. "Every movie means a lot of computer space. I'll have to talk with Phil about that. I'm thinking the _Martha_ is too small for that." Jackson took a deep breath and let it out.

"It can be done but it's going to take some planning and we're going to have to think of a legitimate reason to go there that will get us a code we can use. You, my love, need to think of a name for your cinema, how big a space you need, how to rent a space, and how much it is. Do some research on how much to charge so you don't go broke." Jackson stopped when he saw the look she was giving him.

"This is your dream, Martha. Go find out what it takes to make it work. Take your daughter with you as a translator. Start making calls and start asking questions. …Now up, it's time for lunch before you turn into a prune or boil your insides." That wasn't possible since the hot tub was off, thanks to the timer.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis and Victoria found their contractor with little trouble. It looked to Alexis that he was actually leaving more trees than they'd requested. That or he simply hadn't gotten to that section yet.

He walked them over to a large pile of plants that he'd dubbed trash. His job was mostly to clear the area of plants and trees and then plow the ground, making it ready for planting. So far he had cleared a large long space that as Alexis looked at it, reminded her of a grass airfield back on Earth.

He had left a few rows of trees between this area and the only real beach this island had, so Alexis was pleased about that. She also asked him to inform her when he started work on the other side of the island. He needed to understand that if they expected them to plant plants to produce food, they needed to leave them plants they could use.

"I'll start dividing up this mess while you go back and get containers." Victoria quickly agreed and started walking to their car. "And some water bottles! These guys likely need it," Alexis said.

But Alexis didn't begin immediately because she was curious. The city was just the other side of these trees. A short walk between the trees had her standing on the beach and looking out.

"WOW!" They were still driving pilings into the ocean; she watched as men and machine were starting work on what would be the floor. Then she saw another machine driving pilings far out into the ocean. "Those little teardrops are going to be the dock area for the fishing fleet. Or private boats like ours."

The road still stopped just at the beach but she was betting it would continue past that and out to the city. "A year, huh?" She was thinking they were going to have to work faster for that to happen.


	27. Chapter 27

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 27**

Alexis had commandeered Victoria and Stephanie to help her, combined with a little help from their contractor. The chairs were in place; she had no idea where the contractor had gotten them from. The banners were hanging from as high up in the Pyramid as she dared.

The time of the wedding had been changed to after the sun had set. This was because Victoria had found a number of lighting options and had persuaded Alexis into using them.

Kate was a bundle of nerves as she sat in front of a mirror trying to apply her makeup. A slightly shaking hand was trying to apply a final touch of blush. She watched it happen in the mirror and couldn't believe it. She was already married; why was she so nervous?

It was just that this was different. This was going to be in front of friends and family. It was going to be recognized by a government; she was going to receive a permanent marker that showed she was married and that her heart belonged to someone else. She was actually going to officially hand her heart over to someone. A heart that she had guarded for a lot of years, ever since the death of her parents. She knew she loved him and didn't want to live her life without him, but doing it in public somehow made it different.

Martha was in a different room applying her makeup, however, she had no such problem. She had already married her husband once on Earth. She was more than willing to marry him again on this planet or any other planet. It wasn't lost on her that she was in fact marrying someone on another planet, though. A place she had never even dreamed possible until now. A quick knock had her standing and heading for her future with assurance that it was going to be great. After all, she had all of her family around her again.

Kate nearly leapt out of her skin at her quick knock; she turned to look at the door but didn't see it open.

They both walked out of their bedrooms and actually met in the living room on their way to the skybridge that will take them to the Pyramid and the men they loved.

"You look nervous, Katherine." Martha couldn't fail to notice.

Kate gave her head a brief shake. "I don't understand why. I already married him and I love him more than anything."

"Your parents are here, darling. Trust me, they're here. They wouldn't miss this day for anything." Martha took her hand. "If it's the tattoo, just remember, you already gave him your heart. He's simply asking you for your trust. …Forever. Shall we go see what our husbands look like?" Martha really wanted to see what Jackson looked like all cleaned up and looking regal.

They both saw it all as they traveled down the glass enclosed elevator.

"OH MY!" Martha was amazed and Kate was simply mind blown.

There were people seemingly everywhere. They watched long banners hanging from the plant terraces ripple in the breeze while a single spot spat out four lights that spun around, hitting various places with light. But that wasn't all the lighting. Another light was throwing blue-colored sparkling snowflakes all over everything. Combined, they didn't really need any other lighting as it all bounced off off all the glass, let alone all the water.

They both reached the bottom and the door opened to see a lighted runway leading them out toward the center. It was there that they found a walkway leading out over the water where their husbands waited. Across the way were the people there to see the first marriage in the Pegasus Galaxy.

Kate loved her gown – it was pale gold and strapless with a sweetheart neckline; the bodice was covered in lace, the skirt was tulle with lace medallions, and had a 2 foot train – and walked up to stand next to Rick.

Martha felt different wearing this gown than her Earth traditional, all white gown. However, this dress felt like it more reflected who she was as a person. A sleeveless fit and flare with plunging neckline and a small train, her gown was black with an embroidered ivory lace overlay.

They listened to the magistrate who had full authority for the government of EVE to verify that it was all done according to EVE standards.

Kate was finally signaled to say what she wished.

" _I never thought this day was ever going to come. Be it here in another_ _g_ _alaxy or anywhere else. I had closed my heart and buried my life_ _beneath_ _my work. Then you came along and showed me how wrong I had been. …I love you more than any words can say. I want with all my heart to be your wife."_ Kate felt her tears starting.

He nodded to Martha, letting her know she was next.

" _I married you on Earth and gave you a son. I know our daughter is not my own_ _but_ _I will forever treat her_ _as though_ _she is. I love you and am so happy that you and our family are together again. I love you and am happy to call you husband."_ Her first tear began to travel down her cheek.

The four of them each felt a device be clamped onto their left wrists. "By the rules of our nation you will now be bound to each other until death do you part."

" _I chose this symbol to show that we are bound to each other. A piece of each of us is a part of this symbol. …You wanted us to be one_ _; w_ _e are about to be one until time itself comes to an end_ _,_ _"_ Rick told her and Kate couldn't stop the tears from flowing. He had used her own _I want us to be one_.

" _On Earth we signed forms, gave each other rings_ _,_ _and promised to love each other till death us do part. This is going to show to everyone that we are committed to each other. Accept it and be my wife…forever_ _,_ _"_ Jackson said to her and watched his wife's tears fall.

The magistrate stepped forward and pressed four separate buttons to start the tattoos. All four could feel it being etched into their skin. It started on top of their wrists and moved all the way around. By the end, all four were gritting their teeth just a little.

Then he came forward and, one at a time, removed the devices. "As prescribed by our laws you are now husband and wife for the rest of your lives."

Kate lifted her hand to look at it. Rick did as well even though he knew what it was going to look like.

She looked closely and saw a single gold line weave its way around her wrist. Off of this one were a number of smaller and short gold lines. These lines each ended with a leaf. A few were gold, a few were green, a few were orange, a few were actually a soft purple, a few were pink, a few were brown, and the final few were red.

Kate recognized the fall colors of trees on earth all attached to a gold band around her wrist. She had so feared what Rick would place on her body forever.

Now her tears only increased as her lower lip quivered; she loved him even more if that was possible. "It's beautiful. …I love it and I love you." Kate slipped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Mr. Castle." She met his kiss halfway.

Martha looked at her wrist where she saw two narrow rings of gold about an inch apart, between which, on a black background, there was a row of small gold dots, a row of larger gold rings, and another row of small gold dots. "One ring was all I needed, Jackson." She placed her tattoo up against her husband's tattoo. Then its meaning struck her. "A ring on my finger, rings on my wrist that wrap rings around our love. I love it! You're amazing!" Martha, like Kate, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

It was now that additional lights went nuts to combine with the other lights while the sound of the audience clapping was added.

They watched as their pontoon boat was guided into place. On it was a generous selection of delicacies sent from EVE specifically for this event along with people to hand them out to the people that were part of this.

An hour later everyone was still there when Alexis caught up to Kate and saw Kate running her finger over several of the leaves. "Like it?"

Kate's head snapped up to see who was talking since she'd been lost in her own thoughts. "It's amazing! I can even feel the tiny little bumps that are each leaf. Did you know anything about this?" What she was asking was if Alexis had anything to do with the choice of the design of her tattoo.

"Nope. This is all Rick." Alexis reached out a finger to feel for herself. "He really does love you, you know. Rick used to be so focused on his job that I was beginning to fear that no one would love him. Being called a tree hugger isn't a sign of love."

"Rick isn't a tree hugger to me. He's a lot more than that. What about you? I haven't seen you even talking to guys." Kate didn't know where that question came from. Alexis was her husband's sister, so why was she so suddenly concerned about her future?

"We're in another galaxy unless you haven't noticed. Until the city's complete and occupied there aren't many options available. I'll be fine," Alexis assured her.

Kate suddenly felt she needed to help. "Alexis, I was the queen of fine when I was anything but. You have friends here, you can talk to me."

Alexis chuckled. "Don't worry about me. I'm only 29 years old with Rick just 2 years younger than me. I don't hear my clock ticking yet. I have time and I haven't been staying hidden. I'll be fine. Actually I'm dying to see what the city will look line on the inside." She knew the city was designed to house up to a maximum of 11,000 people unless there was an expansion.

The city was designed to try and be self-sufficient, which meant they would focus on their ability to grow their own food.

Kate was greeting a number of people and showing off her tattoo to each of them. It was Stephanie's turn. "Hi, Kate."

"Stephanie!" Kate showed her her wedding tattoo. "When, you, married?" Kate asked her in broken EVE.

Steph looked at Kate like she had just been insulted. "NO! Boys are…," she searched for the right word in English, "yucky!" She'd learned it with her time with Rick in the kitchen on the _Valley Forge._

Kate simply smiled, knowing that would change. Her approaching hormones would take care of that thinking. "We'll see." Kate took her hand back and kissed her head.

"Swim later?" Stephanie asked in her accented English.

"Absolutely!" Kate answered in EVE and Steph beamed.

Kate saw Victoria coming and she really had a big question but her EVE wasn't nearly good enough. Jackson and Martha were the closest that she knew that could translate.

"Katherine!" Martha reached out to expose Kate's wrist and turned her arm gently to try and see all of it. "It looks amazing. How do you feel?"

Kate didn't know why but she felt her eyes start to water. "Amazing…loved." Kate ran a finger over part of it again just to feel it.

"I enjoyed the ceremony. Your words were touching. …Both of you," Jackson translated for Victoria.

"Thank you, darling!" Martha gave Victoria a quick hug.

"May I ask a question?" Kate waited for the translation. "I know you have a tattoo and that your husband's dead. What if you find someone else? It's not too late for you."

"It's never too late," Martha added and they waited for Jackson to translate for both of them.

Victoria placed a hand over her tattoo. Kate's question, while sincere, also hurt a little. "It will need to be modified, which is not easy to do and still be tasteful. Fortunately my husband chose a tiny tattoo even if it is in a noticeable location.

"Should I find someone that would ask me, I would be much like you, worried about what my future husband will have chosen for us. And yes, his tattoo must duplicate my tattoo, both the old and new one." It was about her only saving grace to prevent her from worrying too much.

"I'm sure you'll find someone. Your daughter deserves to have someone she can call dad." Kate placed a hand on her arm to try and comfort her.

"May I ask about your parents? What happened to them?" Victoria had gone past them a few times and knew she would see their graves for years to come.

"My mother was stabbed and killed with I was 19 years old. …Murdered." Kate even simulated where she had been stabbed.

"I'm so sorry!" This time Victoria reached out to hold her. "It is an insufficient word, I know, still I am sorry to hear it. Murder is a sad thing."

"Dad didn't take her being murdered well. Though to be honest, neither did I. Dad railed against the police for not even trying to find out who killed her. Then he started drinking to try and forget." Kate hated talking about this time in her life. But these people were becoming part of her family. Especially his mother and father.

Victoria listened to Jackson. "Alcohol. …A poor substitute for someone you love."

"Dad wasn't a good drunk. His actions actually drove me out of my own house. In my grief I turned to school and changed my majors. I was planning on following my parents into what they did for a living. But I made a change to get away.

"I was the youngest woman to make captain and be granted command of my own ship." Kate felt her tears start even after all these years and wiped at the one that escaped.

"Dad died of liver failure and other complications the day I graduated. I've been on my own since then." Kate wiped at another tear that escaped.

Martha interjected, "Not anymore, my darling. You have all of us now."

"I don't think my son's going to let you worry about whether or not you are loved or alone out here. Though I think I understand better why you would see Earth as home and reject a new one," Jackson said and translated for Victoria.

Victoria was nodding in agreement. "Home is where family is. Mine is here in Stephanie. She loves it here and is happy again. I never thought of her as being a lover of nature or what to learn more about it. However, she has changed because of Rick and Alexis. As well as all of you. I worried about her." Victoria was sure she was a daddy's girl. "She loves Rick." It was all she talked about lately.

"She's an amazing girl. I'm glad I ran into her at the pool." It had been a happy accident.

A hesitant look passed over Victoria's face. "I have something important to ask. If…if something were to ever happen to me, I would like to list you and Rick as being her guardians, if you agree?" Victoria knew she was asking a lot but she had seen her daughter with these two. They were perfect.

Kate was shocked into silence and Victoria began to fear she had asked too much. Her and her daughter might be asked to leave now.

Kate reached out and touched her shoulder. "Nothing's going to happen. I won't let it, neither will Rick. Though if it will make you feel better, then we accept. I'll talk to Rick but I'm sure he won't mind." Kate wasn't really thinking that she had just accepted being a mother to a possible teenager.

Victoria waited for the translation then smiled and hugged Kate tightly. She needed to make sure her daughter had a future if something terrible happened. "Thank you!" Victoria told her in her accented English.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis caught up to Rick and teased him. "Sooo, married."

"In public, no less. I thought sure I was going to throw up during the ceremony. The first time it was just the two of us and that was easy. This…not so much." Rick was still coming down from the high of being married and realizing what he had done.

"And what about you, Lexi, you're next." Rick gazed at her.

"I don't remember Kate throwing a bouquet and I certainly didn't catch one," Alexis deflected, hoping it would distract her brother. Rick raised an eyebrow and glared at her. "Where's the honeymoon, little brother?" Alexis fought back while he was thinking.

He gulped. "Honey…moon?" Alexis tried not to smile now that she had him off balance.

"I think I'll go over there and ask Kate." Alexis smiled and scurried over to Kate, Victoria, Jackson, and Martha, leaving a shocked Rick in her wake.

"Why does Rick look like a train just ran over him?" Kate asked as soon as Alexis joined them.

"I asked him where your honeymoon was," Alexis grinned, listening to Jackson translate while also seeing Kate smirk.

"Honeymoon?" Victoria didn't understand.

"The husband takes his new wife away from home and shows her places she may never have seen before. To do things together they've never done together. That and a whole lot of sex," Jackson explained.

"That sounds nice. I will have to remember this honeymoon," Victoria said with a smile and waited for him to translate.

Martha turned on Jackson now that they were on the subject. "When and where is _our_ second honeymoon?"

"We're leaving on ours tomorrow," Jackson told her and saw her look at him, obviously wondering what it was. "I have a code for the gate. Phil's already ready and looking forward to hacking Earth's systems."

Martha sucked in a breath and clapped her hands. "Really? Thank you, thank you!" She quickly kissed him.

Victoria, Alexis, and Kate were looking at the two of them, not understanding.

"Martha's decided that she wants to open a theater in the city and show nothing but Earth movies. So we're leaving tomorrow to go…," Jackson cleared his throat, "obtain as many of Earth's movies that we can get our hands on. It took Phil two days to find a device which is portable enough and that he hopes is large enough to hold all the data."

Jackson had to say it twice followed by Martha kissing him again.

"Do we not have a theater room?" Victoria inquired, hoping she could learn English fast enough.

"We do," Alexis confirmed in EVE. "How will people who don't speak English be able to understand?" Alexis asked in English and EVE.

Martha made a face; she hadn't figured that out yet.

Rick joined them. "What are we talking about?" He listened to what was going on and the problem Martha had. "Talk to the techs who converted B2, B4, and B6 plus built B8, B10, and B12 that are around here somewhere. I used B2 to talk to Stephanie in the dome the other day. He translated for both of us." Rick shrugged. He didn't see the problem. "Or do what they did years ago: add subtitles or just dub in a translation. The lips won't match the words but maybe that won't matter. We have a theater room. How big a computer do we have?" Rick wanted a copy of everything they came back with.

"No, you have to buy a ticket, Richard," Martha teased and began laughing at the look he gave her. Followed by Victoria after Alexis translated. Kate simply rubbed his arm in comfort while smiling at him.


	28. Chapter 28

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 28**

"Stay here." Jackson readied his weapon before opening the hatch that would allow him to drop down into his shuttle.

"Jackson, please don't shoot anyone. The movies aren't worth it. And what on Earth are you wearing?" She had never seen him wear a suit like it. It even had a helmet that looked like it sealed his head inside it.

"It's filled with tranquilizer darts. They're about the size of toothpicks and will drop even a Japanese sumo wrestler in an instant. Each clip holds hundreds and I've got some spare clips. No one will be permanently hurt. …And this is a battle suit that I borrowed from a friend. It has a few benefits," Jackson explained. One of which was it being totally resistant to standard weapons fire that the police would use against him. "Wish me luck." He blew her a kiss. His weapon wasn't the only thing he was taking but it was his only weapon.

Jackson soon dropped from the _Martha_ and headed for the surface.

He was a little surprised when Phil had told him what he was after was located just outside of Kansas City in an underground bunker, surrounded by limestone, in a climate-controlled space. He'd been warned not to leave the airlock door open for long.

It was about 2:00 am; he landed hard and jumped out and started running. A small blasting charge later and he was headed underground. His blast had alerted the rent-a-cops who told him to freeze and that he was under arrest. His response was to shoot them with one dart each and watch them drop like a rock. Still it left him with a problem. There was probably a security office somewhere and that person was likely already calling the police for support.

Another door was blasted open and that guy was soon lying on the ground, taking a nice long nap. The hallway ended in an airlock door that showed the temperature and humidity inside. 45 degrees and 25% humidity

Another small charge and he was opening the door. "OH BITE ME!" What he saw was shelving unit after shelving unit that went off into the distance. Each shelf either held boxes or round plastic containers.

"We're going to need a bigger ship, Phil." Jackson had pulled out his communicator to talk to him. "This place has to be… I don't know, maybe 45,000 square feet." He was also going to need a whole lot more people.

"We don't need the originals. You just need to run down each aisle and give that recorder I gave you a chance to scan everything. Now start running. I'm monitoring their communications; you've been spotted and they're beginning to respond."

"I'm too fucking old for this shit," Jackson complained and started running. Down one aisle and up the next before going down the next and up the next one.

"The first car has responded. You can expect company." Jackson stopped at the sound of his voice. Winded, he bent over, huffing and puffing. He was also sweating badly. "You owe me, Martha!" Jackson went back to running.

Jackson had he-didn't-know-how-many aisles left to go down when Phil's voice sounded again. "Two more cars have responded. They've spotted your shuttle and are asking for backup. It sounds like they've found the guys that you shot." That was fine with Jackson. He had no plans on going back out the same way he'd come in.

The suit was a help with the running but he was finding that he was a little out of shape even with its assistance. Still he only rested a moment after each aisle.

He still had a few more aisles when he heard someone yell, "POLICE, HALT!"

Jackson paid him no mind and ran down the next aisle. When he reached the end he looked at Phil's toy. "Your toy says 25% capacity remaining."

"Just keep running. It'll warn you when it's full," Phil answered.

Jackson groaned but began running up the next aisle. When he reached the end he heard the same thing. "POLICE, HALT!" This time, however, it was followed by weapons fire. They missed him and hit film canisters instead. Perturbed, Jackson raised his weapon, fired off a couple dozen shots, and then started running again.

He looked at Phil's toy and ran down the next aisle. When he reached the end he saw there was just one aisle left. "'Bout damn time." Jackson leaned up against the shelving; he looked to see if there were more cops and but didn't see anyone. He looked down his last aisle. "Almost done." He began running and only made it about one third of the way when the device in his hand started blinking. He skidded to a halt and stopped to look at it. "100% full. Sorry, Martha, missed a few of them." He went back to running.

When he reached the end, he pulled out a charge, threw it at the ceiling, and backed away. "Fire in the hole," he muttered as he activated the charge and watched it blow a hole in the ceiling.

He waited for all the debris to finish falling then stood under the rough opening. He initiated his boosters, flew up through the hole, then shot up into the air. It was a little different from using the jet pack that went on your back but the idea was the same.

Since he shot up in the air he saw where his shuttle was as well as the police cars that had responded. Based on the lights he saw a couple more were coming.

Jackson landed and began running for his shuttle. When he got closer he saw a few police officers roaming around his shuttle, probably looking for the way in. "Good luck with that, guys." Still he couldn't have them be in his way so he started firing his weapon and didn't stop until every cop he saw was down. He decided on one final use of his booster and literally jump-flew the rest of the way to land at the door.

Getting through his door required that he remove a glove and place his palm on the reader; the door opened just as his armor took a few hits. He ignored them, stepped inside, and closed the door. Unless they showed up with bigger weapons they couldn't do anything to his shuttle. Still in his suit he sat down in his seat and started powering everything up.

When he heard things hitting his screen he looked up to see three cops firing their weapons at him. Jackson just smiled and waved. He added power and lifted up into the night sky where he added still more power and started rising for the stars.

"Headed your way. Your device is 100% full."

"Really?" Phil was amazed. He had chosen it for its capacity and ability to read while on the run. "Surprising. What do you want next?" This was just the first stop.

What he wanted to do was tell him to ask Martha, but she didn't understand a word of EVE. "Put Martha on."

"Jackson, are you okay?" It was the first thing she wanted to know.

"Just tired. It was a lot of running. We need to hit a large cinema complex next. What do you suggest?" He wanted her to choose.

Martha paused for a moment, thinking. "Hollywood. There's one with 14 screens."

"Plot a course for the west coast of the United States, Phil. I'll be there shortly to pilot." Jackson began scanning for the _Martha_ so he could dock with his ship.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate was reminiscing about yesterday as she watched a few military men mill about. Her people – and yes, they were _hers_ – had spotted a number of military since they were all in uniform and all in white. Most of them stuck together in small groups after the wedding. A pair of them left a group and began walking right for them, though.

He spoke in EVE and waited for Jackson to translate. "This is Admiral Valterri Bottas and his wife, Emilia."

Emilia began speaking. "She says your wedding was lovely. Your words sounded like they came directly from the heart."

"Thank you and they did. Rick saved me from a life that was going to be filled with loneliness." Kate took Rick's hand.

"Yes, being married to a career military man has its moments. May I see your tattoos?" Emilia held out her hand which exposed her own.

"Of course." Kate went first and held out her hand. Initially she'd feared she would worry about it. Now she was proud of it.

She felt her run a finger over some of the leaves and even turned her arm a little to see more of it. Emilia smiled. "It's unique and so lovely. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it."

Rick spoke up. "I designed it myself." That had Kate looking at him and loving him a little more. She thought he'd simply selected it, not designed it for them.

Martha was next; she watched and felt her do the same. Emilia looked at Jackson. "You were originally married on EVE, if I understand correctly. May I ask what that tattoo was?" She wasn't seeing anything out of place.

"My first wife insisted on something simple. These lines here." Jackson showed her what he was talking about. "I didn't think Martha would be satisfied with something so simple."

"How are you settling in?" the admiral asked all of them.

"This place is amazing!" Kate looked around at what was in the boat house. "Do I have you to thank for any of this?" None of them knew who had done what for them.

"This, no. But I am the one that gave your ship clearance to go through the gate, I believe you call it, that got you here. I spent a number of hours in conference with others as to what to do about your approach." It was his idea to use the _Valley Forge_ _,_ to steal it if need be.

Emilia added her voice. "I'm told that there were once 7 other ships. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Eight ships with six domes each." Rick shook his head. The loss of life, both human and wild, along with the spacecraft was irreplaceable.

The admiral turned to business. "Speaking of Earth, I've approved your plan, Hunt. You will find your codes waiting for you. I expect a complete report on your return."

"Thank you, Admiral. We'll find out all we can." Jackson bowed a little.

Admiral Bottas turned to Kate. "One more thing before we take our leave. Your animals have been released from quarantine. You will find them just inside your home in cages along with any remaining food."

"The dogs!" Kate started smiling from ear to ear.

Emilia spoke up. "Interesting animals. I've never seen anything like them. They appeared to be exceptionally friendly. I'm told they grew fast."

"If we ever have puppies I'll try and remember you for first pick." Kate was itching to get upstairs and see them.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate was sitting on the floor of the second story just outside of the main balcony area. She was throwing a tennis ball and watching it bounce off the glass railing with both dogs barking and trying to beat the other to the ball.

Kate was learning that if the female she'd named FLY came back with the ball, she would drop it in her lap and start spinning in place, wanting Kate to throw it again.

Conversely if the male that Rick had named ASTRO came back with the ball, he would play keep away. He would come back but would attempt to get her to chase him and take the ball. If she didn't, he would avoid her attempts at taking it from him. If she managed to get her fingers around it, he would bite down on the ball.

His first try at that had hurt; Kate yelled "OW!" at him. He immediately dropped the ball, put his tail between his legs, and tried to curl up in her lap. Now he just sort of held onto it and allowed her to take it out of his mouth. Then like his sister, he would stand there barking until she threw the ball.

The door behind her opened. "All done," Alexis announced. "The contractor should be done with the doggie door insert later today."

"FLY, ASTRO! Come on, you two." Kate watched them run in her direction with the ball in Astro's mouth. "Come on." She encouraged them to go outside with her.

Once outside Astro dropped the ball now that there was a new place to inspect. Kate, Alexis, and Rick watched them wander all over. Astro finally found the large patch of grass as well as the pole in the middle of it. He sniffed the pole then lifted his leg and peed on it.

"GOOD BOY, ASTRO!" Rick was all over him giving him praise.

"FLY! NO!" Fly was squatting and peeing on the floor. Alexis picked up Fly. The puppy knew she was in trouble; she found herself set down on the grass and left there.

"I'll go get the cleaning supplies." Kate left them and went inside.

"Grass, Fly, you do it here," Alexis tried to tell her and then left her to wander around the grass and smell the pole. Then they watched her run off after her brother.

"We still have to teach them how to use the doggie door." Alexis slumped, knowing the next few weeks were going to be a pain.

"Potty training," Rick nodded. Then the door opened and out came Stephanie who was instantly spotted. In a split second she had two dogs doing their best to get all of her attention.

Stephanie froze and stood there like a statue. Alexis tried to comfort her and persuade her to interact with the pups. "They won't hurt you, Steph, they just want you to play with them." Steph slowly and a bit hesitantly reached out a hand to touch one.

Kate was back minutes later with something to clean up after Fly. She found Steph rolling around on the floor with Fly and Astro jumping all over her as she laughed.

"That was easy," Kate commented while walking over to the wet spot.

"She warmed up quickly. At first she was a little scared of them, but she learned fast," Alexis said.

"NO! No, no, no." Rick swooped in, picked up Astro, and carried him over to the grass. "Go potty," Rick told him. Astro sat on the grass, dejected, since he was in trouble. "Go potty." Rick said firmly, standing there and watching him.

Eventually Astro walked off the grass and went somewhere else. He arched his back only to have Rick tell him NO; he picked him up and put him back on the grass. "Go potty."

Astro finally got up, wandered around the grass, then arched his back and pooped. Rick heaped a load of praise on him for doing what he did or more accurately, where he did it. Astro ran off to join his sister and finish attacking Steph, leaving Rick to clean up after him.

Alexis sighed. "We're going to need a larger green space. We may have to lose one of the seating areas."

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"Just fly over the location and come back," Phill told Jackson who climbed down into his shuttle and took off.

Jackson liked this part of his mission the best. All he had to do was fly down, hover over the cinemas a moment, then fly back up. "That was too easy." Jackson was smiling broadly as he approached the _Martha._

"Where are we going?" Martha was sitting up front next to her husband. All she really saw was white and a little blue and a whole lot of black. Except for being in orbit she had no idea where we are.

"To get the codes needed to get us here, I had to agree to do something. So we're flying toward the South China Sea," Jackson explained.

A little later he brought his scans up on the screen in front of him like a HUD display. "That's a lot of activity." He saw ships and aircraft all over the place. Jackson started pointing for Martha's benefit. "The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma. Looks like a full on invasion by China." Jackson wasn't really surprised but was still a little amazed at the scope.

"Where's the United States?" What were they doing? Jackson did some searching until he found something. "Here," he pointed and zoomed in. "Looks like two full carrier strike groups. Based on their course I'd say they're headed for Japan. Or possibly South Korea."

Jackson heard EVE being spoken but missed most of it. "Say again, Phil." Jackson listened closely.

"Phil's intercepted orders. All off-duty personnel are being recalled. Looks like every carrier group America has is going to be deployed soon. Either something's up or they're expecting bad news." Jackson sat back in his seat.

"We're going to blow ourselves up." Martha slumped in her seat.

"We've been threatening to do that for years, Martha. You know that. This is just a little louder saber rattling…I hope." Then a thought hit him. "Phil, see if you can find what the Doomsday clock is set at at the moment." It might tell them something.

The two of them just watched; several minutes later they heard Phil's voice. "One minute to midnight." Jackson scrubbed his face with his hands and sighed.

"Jack?" Martha was really asking if there was something he could do.

Jackson actually thought about it. "Martha, my love, say I fire on the Chinese and sink one of their islands. What are they going to do except blame it on America and start planning a response to this attack."

"They're already attacking other countries," Martha countered.

"And when China finally invaded Taiwan, what did America do? Besides condemn it?" Jackson asked.

Martha already knew the answer to that. "Nothing."

"What about when Russia finally finished what they started in the Ukraine?"

Martha hung her head. "Nothing."

"Love, America is and has been in full on protectionist mode. They're a superpower but no longer a super player. China, and to a lesser extent Russia, has replaced them in that regard. Countries no longer look to America for leadership. Europe stopped looking years ago." Jackson wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know.

"I suppose it's a good thing that you're an alien. …Who I love with all my heart." Martha reached out and felt Jackson take her hand in his.

"There are boundaries even China and Russia know better than to cross. Japan and Europe are the two major ones. Something happens there…" Jackson let that trail off since the answer was obvious.

"So what do we do?" Martha asked since it sounded like there was nothing they could do.

"We have your movies. Now we wait and watch," Jackson replied. "We have at least another week here before going home."

Martha thought about it and looked behind her. They didn't have a bedroom on this ship. They slept in separate cots all in the main room which doubled as a cargo hold. They had one bathroom and the tiniest of kitchens. They had the food for four weeks, or so Jackson had said. Power wasn't a problem and neither was air or water. It was going to be a long week.

"We can have Phil search the movies and we can watch some of them," Jackson said optimistically, though they knew the screen was small and the sound system wasn't much.

"Maybe a classic?" Martha suggested.

Jackson thought about it. _"Monkey Business?"_ He was hopeful. "After Phil has had time to dub it into EVE." Martha chuckled at his choice and thought about it.

Then she glared at him. "I won't be able to understand a word of it."

He offered a compromise. "Subtitles, then." He looked lovingly at Martha then moved over to her, took her in his arms, and gave her a toe-curling kiss.


	29. Chapter 29

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 29**

"Tired?" Jackson watched Martha drop into the seat next to him.

"Oh no, I love it here," she snapped, then glared at him as he chuckled softly.

"Now you have a story to tell Katherine. Something for her to look forward to," Jackson teased.

"I don't know what you two see in being out in space. There's nothing out here." Martha theatrically swept her hand at the blackness.

"Well, then you'll be happy to know that we'll be leaving in a few hours. I just want to watch and give Phil a little more time to find out what, if anything, they're planning down there." He glanced down at his screens to check his ship's systems.

"Good. …I'm starving." They were eating but the meals weren't up to her standards by any means.

Jackson picked up his pad and reviewed what they'd learned so far. China looked to be solidifying their hold on the entire South China Sea area. The United States had two carrier groups sitting just outside of Japan. They continued to man and provide supplies to get all of their other carrier groups out of port. The only one that was scheduled to stay was the one that was undergoing maintenance.

"Jack, they're still paying a lot of attention to us," Phil announced. That had Jackson searching his screens. So far nothing looked to be headed their way. They were still sitting on top of the South China Sea area. Not in orbit, just sitting.

Jackson chose to sit back and wait and watch.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"Outside. …Go outside," Kate pointed; Fly just looked at her. "Go outside." She got behind the pup and pushed her toward the door. "Outside." Frustrated, she blew a lock of hair off her face, nudged Fly through the doggie door and watched her just stand there. She sighed and went outside with her. "Now go potty. GO. POTTY." She pointed at the now enlarged grassy area.

"Getting in practice for when you and Rick have a kid?" Alexis raised her head to look at Kate. Alexis had taken the day off and was in a bikini soaking up some sun, doing absolutely nothing for a change.

"Very funny," Kate grumbled. Alexis closed her eyes and lay back down. Kate fought back. "You're not too old to have kids of your own, you know."

"Last I knew you had to have sex first." Alexis squeezed her eyes shut a little tighter and cursed silently, damning her big mouth.

Sure enough Kate walked over to her and stood, blocking her sun. "You can talk to me, Alexis. I may not be your mother but I'm willing to listen…or help."

Alexis peeked up at her. "I've already suffered through Victoria trying to set me up. He suggested a picnic out on the island so I put one together and met him there. He was cute and if we were on Earth you might call him a hunk. I hadn't even finished setting everything out when he opened his big mouth. And I quote, _'_ _Do you want to have sex?_ _'_ end quote." She closed her eyes and tried to sink deeper into her lounge chair.

Kate screwed up her face. "Ouch!" Kate had been there and done that and watched Alexis raise a hand.

"And if you tell me there are more men out there that are a lot better, I'll have my dad eject you out into space." Alexis already knew there were more fish out in the sea. "What's Fly doing?" Alexis needed a distraction.

Kate took a look and saw Fly squatting to pee on the grass. "Good Fly." She left Alexis to heap praise on her puppy for doing what she was supposed to do and even better where she was supposed to do it.

Alexis smiled now that Kate was gone. Her smile didn't last long, though. She heard her say, "I'm going to ask the admiral when he's going to start rotating the crew down for shore leave. There may not be that much green, but we do have a pool."

Alexis groaned as she heard the door open and listened to Fly barking after Kate threw the ball. "Maybe I was better off before my family caught up to me." Alexis continued to get some sun.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

 **This section contains language and situations that** **are** **rated** _ **M.**_

 **Reader discretion is advised.**

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Alexis wasn't taking any chances with tomorrow. Kate had somehow contacted the admiral, likely using one of the house's B units to translate for her. The admiral, she'd learned, had agreed that it was time to start sending crew down to the pool for some leisure time.

Alexis was now certain that scantily clad military men would be running around the Pyramid tomorrow. She was sure Kate had timed it with her and Victoria being in the Pyramid then to plant some more plants.

Searching her drawers, Alexis found what she wanted. She stripped and threw her clothes onto her dresser. "I really need to get some containers for plants." Her room was full of hard lines and she needed to soften it up a little, or a lot.

Alexis lay down on her back and picked up her first device. After a quick lick to get the edge wet, she squeezed it together, placed it over her right nipple, and released it. The result had her sucking in a little breath as the vacuum pulled on her nipple and her areola, causing the blood to start rushing to it. Then she did the same for her other nipple.

She just relaxed and let the feeling of her nipples being pulled excite her. But it wasn't near enough; she reached down to run a finger through her outer lips. A hum escaped her lips. A number of strokes later and she was starting to get wet. She reached for another device and turned it on to warm it up, then she went back to stroking her pussy with her fingers.

Just minutes later she was wet and horny for more. Alexis looked down and pulled her clit hood back, exposing her large clit. She had been curious to learn if the size of her clit was normal and found that she was larger than average. A quick pinch of her clit had her lifting up off the bed a little while moaning. She began rolling her clit between her fingers. "OH, GOD!" She released her clit before she climaxed too quickly.

Alexis picked up her third device, placed the tube end over her clit, and pressed down, forcing it inside the tube. "Oh, God! …SHIT!" Her clit had always been tender and easily sensitive.

She pressed the button. "OH, GOD!" Alexis lifted her ass off the bed as the vacuum pulled her clit up into the clear tube. She gave herself a minute to adjust to the pressure and then pressed another button.

This one reactivated the vacuum and pulled her clit further into the tube. "SHIT!" Then the automation released her clit followed by pumping the air back out. "OH, GOD!"

Part of her wanted to turn it off and part of her wanted it to continue so she could have an orgasm. Her indecision meant she left it on; she clutched the sheets tightly while lifting her ass of the bed before lowering it back down only to lift it back up again.

Alexis screamed as her orgasm crashed over her. She also knew that her clit was now going to be too sensitive to keep this up. She scrambled to find the controls and turn it off.

Her enlarged clit was still in the tube and she didn't dare do anything about that. She knew from experience that just trying to remove it would cause pain. Her clit would be far too sensitive so she left it as it was.

A check of her other device showed that it was nice and warm and ready. Making sure to avoid even grazing her clit, she tried to spread her lips wide with one hand while slowly inserting the dildo into her pussy.

God, but it felt so good to have something inside her that looked and felt like a real warm cock. Alexis kept pushing until almost all of it was inside her then she slowly started to pull it back out.

"GOD, YES!" What she wanted to do was ram it inside her and turn it on, however, she chose to keep slowly pushing and pulling. "Ahh…this feels so good." She could feel herself slowly building up to another orgasm.

She was wet and she was still horny and knew just what she wanted. Alexis pressed the dildo deep inside her and then turned it on.

The results were instantaneous. It acted like a telescope and extended itself even deeper inside her, then collapsed back inside itself. "SHIT, YES!"

Alexis removed her hands, let the device work, and removed the clamps on her nipples. Her nipples and areolas were now engorged with blood and extended well past her breast. They were also very sensitive as she began to roll them between her fingers.

"OH, GOD! FUCK, YES!" she panted. Alexis would lift her ass of the bed only to lower it then lift her head off the bed to the same rhythm as the dildo inside her. She moaned loudly as she felt her orgasm building faster.

"FUCK, YES! FUCK ME!" She was so close, so very close. It had her reaching to turn on the vacuum around her clit and Alexis screamed as a powerful orgasm crashed over her.

She only barely noticed that the dildo had detected the muscle movement of her vagina and began pumping the warmed white liquid that it was filled with into her.

Alexis continued to let the dildo pump itself in and out of her pussy as it emptied its contents inside her while she squeezed her enlarged nipples hard as well as feeling the vacuum release her clit only to remove the air yet again.

She lifted her ass off the bed and screamed out another orgasm mostly because her clit was so very sensitive. Alexis released her nipples and reached to turn off the vacuum as well as the dildo.

Her clit was still highly sensitive, though, and even as the air was released she felt a small orgasm rush through her.

It left her lying on her bed, spent, as the last of the ripples of her orgasms traveled through her body.

Her heart was beating fast and she was starting to sweat as the last ripple left her. It was now that she felt the warm white liquid starting to ooze out of her pussy past the dildo that was still deep inside her.

With great care she removed the device off her clit then slowly removed her dildo and felt more of the warm liquid ooze out of her pussy.

Several minutes later she got up, picked up her toys, and took them into the bathroom to wash them and them wash herself. While washing, she slowly inserted a finger into her pussy and felt completely satisfied.

She was now secure in the knowledge that seeing half-naked naval officers tomorrow wouldn't cause her to do something foolish like attacking one of them them, sitting on him, and ramming his hard cock deep inside her, even if it meant letting his friends watch.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

 **The** _ **M**_ **rated section is now complete. If you have scrolled down this far to avoid it, it is now safe to read.**

 **Reader discretion is no longer required.**

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Kate, Rick, Alexis, Victoria and Stephanie were already using the pool when the first shuttle of naval officers showed up. They were all still dressed in their uniforms, however, each had a small bag that they later found held a swimsuit, towel, and sunscreen.

There were 14 men and 2 women in the group. One of them approached Kate, Victoria, and Alexis while the others lined up behind him in a perfectly straight line. He gave a salute. "I am Fleet Admiral J.P. Stark. I wanted to thank you personally for the use of your site." He waited for Alexis to translate.

"We're happy to have you, Admiral Stark," Kate said and waited for Alexis to translate.

"If I may, this is our ship's CAG, Commander Cabela." They saw him salute. "This is Air Wing 9, known as the **Wings of Fire**.They are lead by Lieutenant Commander DeGrom." She saluted as well.

"You're all welcome. Drinks and snacks will be down shortly. Lunch is in 2 to 3 hours. You are invited to stay," Alexis said in EVE.

"EVE or Earth food?" the admiral inquired.

"We only have EVE here. If you want Earth we will need to go to the _Valley Forge_ _,_ _"_ Alexis explained.

The admiral nodded, thinking. "Lieutenant Commander DeGrom."

"SIR!" She took a step out of the line.

"Escort Alexis Castle up to the _Valley Forge_ and bring down enough Earth food to feed the Air Wing."

She saluted yet again. "Yes sir, thank you, sir." She couldn't keep the hint of a smile from reaching her lips.

"Let me change into some clothes and I'll be right with you." Alexis was perfectly happy with them eating Earth food and she was guessing that this had been her idea.

"A wrap and some shoes will be fine, Miss," DeGrom insisted.

Alexis had both things by one of the chairs; they were soon going up to the elevator and to the large shuttle that they'd come down in which had barely fit on the landing pad.

"Your EVE is excellent," DeGrom commented on the way up to the _Valley Forge._

"My English is better, but thanks. Dad arranged for me to have a tutor after coming here. It was a challenge at first. Especially the writing. Some of it's similar and yet some means one thing in English and something totally different in EVE." Alexis shook her head.

"You were born on Earth, Ms Castle?" DeGrom inquired.

"Please call me Alexis and no, I was born on EVE, but my parents took an observation posting on Earth. My birth mother died there shortly after we arrived. I was just a baby. Dad remarried and she's the only mother I really know." Alexis kept it short.

"I am sorry. Hopefully your father has keepsakes to show you that were hers. And I'm Vanessa." Vanessa could sympathize with her situation.

"You lost your mother as well?" Alexis guessed.

"No, my parents are still living. My father didn't approve of my choice and we haven't spoken in years. I still see my mother every chance I get which will be difficult to do with this deployment," Vanessa explained.

Alexis was now full of questions, but they were fast approaching the _Valley Forge._ "We need to dock on the far side, aft. You'll need to use your docking collar and bridge since your system and the _Valley Forge_ don't match."

"Understood." Vanessa flew them over the top, dropped down, and started docking with the _Valley Forge._

"WOW! I've never seen a ship like this before." She was more looking around than following Alexis. "This ship is…old. No offense," Vanessa added quickly.

Alexis chuckled. "It's not my ship. Just don't tell my brother or especially Kate that this ship's old. And if I understand correctly, it's only about four years old. It was intended to be an eight year deployment with a possible extension for another eight years." Alexis was walking slowly for her benefit.

Vanessa's eyes widened in surprise. "Eight, maybe sixteen years on a ship this size? I would go mad. Our carrier's several times this size."

"Full with men filled with hormones." Alexis didn't know how she survived in that kind of environment.

She burst out laughing. "Mostly true. Men out number the women about 4 or 5 to 1. We hold 6 full air wings for a total of 72. In addition to that there are maintenance crews, engineering, CIC, cooks, and fire crews; in total just under 6,000 men and women. Oh and 3 wings of recovery crews. If they hear that I almost forgot about them they'll remove my ass." Vanessa started chuckling which had Alexis smiling.

"This deployment must make it hard on your husband." Alexis could only imagine.

"I'm not married. Mostly it's just me, my mom, and my two sisters."

"A carrier filled with men. I presume you're berthed in dorms?" Alexis questioned.

"Depends on your sex and your rank. The lower ranks are berthed in dorms. The lower ranked women are pretty much the same. I have a tiny room to myself. More a closet really."

Alexis took a new look at her based on this information. She was a touch taller than she was, more brownish skin than hers or even Kate's or Victoria's. She was a golden blonde with really short hair, especially in back. Alexis thought she was very pretty and with a carrier full of men, she was likely being hit on constantly. Plus it wasn't hard to tell that her beasts were not a lot larger than hers, just different. Alexis saw her breasts as being larger than say Kate's, but her breasts took up much more of her chest. They were larger in sheer space than true cup size. Vanessa's were more normal in cup size and yet larger.

"This is the kitchen. We're going to need some containers and a transport." Alexis kicked herself for not stopping to get those first.

Vanessa couldn't help it; she stepped up to Alexis and hugged her tightly. "Thank you for this. I still can't believe the Fleet Admiral even asked."

Alexis felt her, almost all of her. It was almost uncanny how easily she fit in Vanessa's arms and body. She wasn't interested in women since she really wanted and needed to have a cock inside her.

Alexis was outside gathering up what they needed while leaving Vanessa to search the kitchen. It had Alexis wondering if Vanessa was gay. No matter how pretty or possibly sexy she was Alexis knew that _she_ wasn't gay herself.

"I see you've made a few choices." Alexis found a few frozen items on a table and she had her head buried in a refrigerator, rummaging through it.

Vanessa stood up quickly and looked at Alexis. "I don't know what it is but it looked interesting. I only took out a few since I didn't want to over do it."

Alexis found three T-bone steaks on the table and thought about it. One for the admiral, one for Vanessa and one for the CAG. "In that case how about…" Alexis sifted through the freezer and pulled out several pounds of ground hamburger and two packages of hot dogs. Then out came two bags of frozen French fries.

"Now we need these." Alexis pulled out three big cans of BBQ beans. "We're going to need buns for both." She went back into the freezer. "We need this, this, this, this, and these." She looked it all over. "We need a vegetable and one of these."

She ran through the list in her head: steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, ketchup, mustard, mayo, BBQ sauce, onions, buns, lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus, beans, fries, and baking potatoes. Alexis snapped her fingers and went digging. "Butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chives, and potato chips." She tried to think. "BEER, lots and lots of beer."

Vanessa was following Alexis and loving the way her ass moved. _Don't press, Van, don't press._


	30. Chapter 30

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 30**

"That went…well." Kate was standing next to Alexis as they watched from the elevator while the shuttle lifted off, taking their guests with them.

"I think it was the description of the pig that was in the hot dogs that did it." Alexis started to smile and couldn't help but laugh a little.

Kate began chuckling. "The steak and the hamburgers went well at least. I noticed that the lone female stuck pretty close to you." Kate wasn't above doing some digging.

"Don't start something. I happen to like men. Women don't have the proper…equipment. We should go help clean up." Alexis pressed the panel for the pool.

"She's very pretty," Kate commented and endured Alexis sending her daggers. "Love is love, Alexis. Finding that's hard enough without being a bigot."

"I only just met her and now I'm in love with her? I think you need to have your tattoo inspected. It may be infected." Alexis stepped out of the elevator and walked over to a comm panel. "B10 and B12 report to the pool." They and their guests had made a mess.

"And I'm not a bigot!" Alexis yelled and noticed that she'd gotten everyone else's attention. She quickly moved to start cleaning up before they started asking her questions.

Kate left them to check on the dogs that had been locked in the house. She finally found them sleeping next to each other out on the patio. She also found they had left her something on the grass. "Good dogs." She cleaned it up, threw it in the trash, and went back down to the pool after checking they still had water and puppy food.

Rick caught up to Kate. "What's with Alexis? She's…different. Was it one of those fliers?" He was her brother, her younger brother, granted, but since their dad wasn't around he thought he should do something.

"She's fine. She just… I may have teased her about that female just a little too much." Kate was starting to feel sorry about that.

"She was pretty. …Not as pretty as you. Not anywhere near," Rick quickly backpedaled, trying to remove his foot from his mouth.

Kate grinned. "You're safe, Castle. We're officially married and if I ever did find you with another woman I would just shoot you and dump your body far out to sea. Or out an airlock, whichever is closest." She patted his chest and kissed his cheek.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

It was possible to actually run in a circle inside the house on the upper floor. It was there that Victoria easily found her daughter since she was laughing almost all the time. Though it was hard to hear her over the sound of both dogs barking as they chased her.

She chose a glass of wine from the kitchen and sneaked out onto the main balcony on the second floor without her daughter of the dogs seeing her. She'd thought about relaxing in the living room. However, all the noise was going to make that difficult.

She was lost in thought when Rick found her and sat down across from her. When she noticed him she thought about asking him a question, except he didn't understand EVE. Kate had a tutor but Rick didn't. She knew how to fix that, though.

Rick saw her get up, leaving her glass of wine behind, then come back. A moment later B10 rolled into view. "You are not learning to speak EVE, may I ask why?"

"Money, mostly. Kate has a tutor that my father's paying for. We, all of us, are here to work with nature, to produce food for us and the fleet. This house is our compensation. We're not earning money so we don't actually have any. No money, no tutor." Rick thought it was simple.

Victoria had been so caught up being able to live there that it hadn't occurred to her that she wasn't earning any money, either. It was a surprise and not a good one.

She had a sudden idea. "Kate is teaching my daughter English. Can my daughter not teach you EVE at the same time? At least the basics?"

Rick opened his mouth then closed it, thinking about that. He smiled at the idea of a 12-year-old teaching him a new language. "Just so long as no one outside of this house learns about this." He would never live it down if word got out.

Victoria thought about what Rick had said and began to grin. "I will talk to Stephanie about it. …You know, she really loves those dogs." Seeing her so happy made Victoria extremely happy.

"Puppies can make anyone happy," Rick confirmed. Then the door opened and out came Steph, followed by both dogs. Steph went to her mother while both dogs headed for the grass.

"Are you having fun?" Victoria asked her heavily breathing daughter.

"I can't find a ball," Steph answered.

"Storage, upstairs where all their dog food's located." They had an abundance of spare tennis balls.

"Thank you." Steph was off running again, opening and closing the door. The dogs had finished peeing on the grass and had moved over to the water bowl; they were racing each other as to how much water they could drink. They spotted Steph running back inside so they stopped drinking and hit the doggie door at full speed to catch up to her.

"Those three are going to sleep well tonight," Rick commented softly then heard the B unit translate. Victoria smiled.

Victoria screwed up her courage. "Does Alexis like women?" She knew this might be a touchy subject.

Rick was caught off guard by her question. "I don't think I understand."

Victoria wasn't sure how far to push. "She spent a lot of time with the female pilot."

Rick thought about her comment. "She made a new friend." He shrugged. He thought all women had girlfriends. "Don't you have a girlfriend? Someone that's a best friend? You could possibly invite her here. I don't know what it takes to get through that gate, though." He was now beginning to wonder if they were isolated from everywhere and everyone.

"I do, or did, and you did not answer my question." Victoria gave it one last try.

"Your question…about the female pilot? You mean romantically?" That had Rick thinking. "I don't actually know. She's never said anything about women. I know she dated on Earth a little." They'd all been men, one of whom Rick had found out was an asshole and had told Alexis just that. "I don't really know." He inquired uncertainly, "Do they do that here?"

"Yes, it is allowed. It is not universally accepted by everyone, but it does happen. I personally am not interested, however, that female pilot…" She shook her head. "I do not know, but she was lovely." Victoria hated to admit it but she was always comparing her looks to other women. Gauging what her chances were with a man.

"Would it be bad if I asked her? The pilot, I mean. Discretely during her next visit. If she comes." Victoria didn't know if she was right or just seeing things or wanting there to be someone for Alexis.

"I…" Rick wasn't sure how to answer that. "Just don't get a rumor started. Alexis will kill us if we created a rumor that she was gay." She would be just as furious with them as she had been with their dad. Alexis would kill him if she found out.

"No! Never that. I will be careful. If I ask her anything at all." Her courage was fading fast. She changed the subject. "When will the others be back?"

"Mom and Dad on their little movie hunt? Another week if not longer. I still don't see how they're going to be able to hold that many movies in one little ship." Rick was thinking actual film reels, knowing each movie took several reels.

Now Victoria was lost. She didn't know what he was talking about. "Computer memory is just that. How much does that ship have?" That was when a light bulb went on over Rick's head.

"They're going to make copies and store them digitally! Not actually film. In that case Mother may end up with thousands of movies. I wonder if she'll come back with any silent films." He'd heard about them but never actually seen one.

"Silent films?" Why would anyone make one of those?

"Long story." Rick looked at the time. "I need to start working on dinner. Any requests?" He stopped from getting up to ask her.

Victoria thought about it. She had learned that Rick was good, really good. "Surprise me," she decided and watched him start to leave. "With ice cream? That pinkish ice cream."

He was happy to provide. "Homemade peppermint ice cream it is."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

It had been another week and they were expecting Jackson and Martha to return. All of them were actually interested in what and how many movies they'd managed to obtain. Rick, Kate in particular, and Alexis wanted to know more about Earth, wanted to know what was happening there.

Instead they saw a large shuttle land and out came another group of military. As in previous times, it was mostly men and one or two women. They had been informed by the fleet admiral that he would send down small groups three times a week.

It told Rick that he was going to be spending part of today in the kitchen to feed this group.

Victoria paid particular attention and did not see Vanessa. She had decided that she would question her a little without being too pushy.

"Guess we wait. Maybe they were delayed." Kate was a little dejected and walked away.

She didn't get far, though, since Stephanie stopped her. "Swimming?" She wanted her friend to come with her. "Do Astro and Fly know how to swim?" she asked in EVE and used English for the names of the dogs.

Kate pieced most of that together. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I have an EVE lesson shortly." Steph caught enough of that and looked disappointed. "We can go night swimming after the sun goes down," Kate offered as a substitute as Steph smiled back.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate was on the bridge of the _Valley Forge,_ monitoring the systems since they were in a stable orbit. She was hoping Jackson and Martha would come back so that she could get back out into space. It was partly why she had agreed to stay here with her husband.

She was watching the radar screen for any sign of them while watching all the other ships, all military or so it felt. She was watching intently as shuttles came and went from three of the other moons. "Miners." It had her wondering what their life was like.

A beeping noise got her attention so she stepped over to the communications panel. "Fire Lead calling _Valley Forge."_

"This is _Valley Forge_ to Fire Lead," Kate answered.

"Please activate translator," she was told. Kate had actually caught _"Valley Forge"_ in EVE but the rest was anyone's guess.

Kate found the translator that had been added to her ship. "Done, how can I help you?"

"My name is Vanessa, lead of the air wing Wings of Fire. …Is Alexis there?" Vanessa was taking a risk.

"Alexis is with Victoria down on the moon. They're working on harvesting plants for dividing and replanting amongst other things." They needed plants for the house as well.

"I see." She didn't have clearance to land on the moon, so it was time for plan B. "Can you pass along a message for me? She and everyone else is invited up to my ship in two days time for a tour. I've gotten permission from the captain." If she couldn't get to Alexis, she would bring Alexis to her.

A thrill ran through Kate and her eyes widened in excitement. A chance to see the interior of a military ship and one of those massive carriers at that! There was no way she was passing up on that, no matter what Alexis wanted to do. She decided to press her luck. "On behalf of all of us and Alexis, we accept. Does it come with lunch?"

Vanessa actually chuckled. "I'll see what I can do. In two days, I'll send a shuttle. It wouldn't hurt to dress up. Fire lead out." Vanessa ended the communication and flew for her ship. She had to make plans.

"YES!" Kate spun in place. She thought about calling Rick and Stephanie to tell them, but decided on a surprise tonight. She may hate surprises but she didn't hate giving them.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate had told everyone over dinner that night while they still waited for Jackson and Martha to show up.

Rick was practically beaming while Kate wasn't far behind for a similar reason. Stephanie didn't care one way or another. Victoria was being silent as was Alexis to a lesser extent.

"An aircraft carrier." Alexis was interested in seeing one. She had only ever seen pictures of any of their military ships save for the destroyers. Then a chiming sound got their attention. It had Alexis up and over to a communications panel. "This is Alexis." It suddenly occurred to her that maybe they should give their home a name.

"Alexis, this is Vanessa." Vanessa suddenly felt her heartbeat increase; she needed to focus. "I wanted to remind you and everyone to bring a bag so you could bring clothes if you wanted to use our gym as well as the appropriate shoes. We have sports courts you could use." They also had a large weight room.

"A gym?" Alexis looked over at everyone; she saw her brother nod and saw that Steph was smiling wide. "We'll bring a change of clothes."

"Excellent! I look forward to seeing…all of you. Vanessa out." Vanessa killed the transmission and willed for her heart to slow down.

Victoria allowed a smile to creep into her face.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Still minus Jackson and Martha, they were up waiting for their shuttle. Each was dressed nicely. Not ballroom elegant but better than usual. The women had even put on a little more makeup. Each also had a small bag with a change of clothes.

Steph was tired of waiting. "Mom?"

"Patience, sweetheart. Give them a little time." She wasn't sure what was going to happen but was beginning to hope.

A few minutes later they watched as a large flat shuttle started to land. Some of them retreated into the elevator to give him space.

After it landed a man in a military uniform stepped out. "If you are ready." Stephanie went first followed by Victoria. "Watch your head," he warned since she was taller than Stephanie.

They found that it would seat more people and that it was also low. Everyone except for Steph had to bend over. "Please forgive the cramped surroundings. Room in a spacecraft is precious so we use all of it."

Since they were in the back they never saw the outside of the ship. They traveled for several minutes until they felt the shuttle land. The same man got up, opened the door, and stepped outside. He stopped Stephanie from exiting too soon. When he did, Victoria told her to wait.

They found an armed guard waiting for them and he took them across a busy deck to an airlock. They saw a number of shuttles sitting with one being loaded with cargo and were given a view of another shuttle landing just down the way. The bay was large and there were doors of two different sizes all over the place.

Once going through the door that ended up right in front of three people, they heard, "Welcome aboard the Shoguneagle, I'm Captain Vettel. I believe you've already met Commander Cabela as well as Lieutenant Commander DeGrom. I will leave you in their capable hands. I expect to meet you in the officers mess for a late lunch. If you'll excuse me, I have a ship to run." The captain took his leave.

"Lieutenant Commander DeGrom has offered her space to stow your gear before our tour. So if you will follow me." Commander Cabela waited for Alexis to translate and then started walking.

Vanessa took up the rear to make sure they didn't lose anyone between here and her room. There were a number of doors and levels between here and there.

She smiled internally as Alexis walked slower than the others and eventually, after a few doors and one change in level, found Alexis walking next to her.

Victoria did her best to catch up to the commander. "May I ask why the gold lighting and black floors and ceiling?"

"We've found that the gold color helps keep the crew calm but also alert. The black helps to soak up the lighting and not make it too bright. The color will change when the ship is on an alert."

"This is Lieutenant Commander DeGrom's quarters. If you will drop off your bags here please." He allowed Vanessa to open her own door; he took the bags and placed them inside her space. "Now if you will follow me." He had one more place to take them before they started the tour.

To Kate it looked like a conference room. It also had an armed guard inside it. There were pictures of various looking ships on the wall.

"This is Lieutenant Oco. He will be going everywhere you go. Should this ship go on alert you'll need to obey his orders. He will take you to the safest part of the ship at the time as well as make sure you do not interfere with the operations of this ship.

"Hopefully that will not happen, however, this is a safety issue that you **must** obey. Do I make myself clear?" He waited until he got a confirmation from everyone including Stephanie.

"Excellent, shall we begin?" He took the lead with Victoria and Stephanie next to him; Lieutenant Oco took a space in the middle and Vanessa was at the rear with Alexis again.


	31. Chapter 31

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 31**

They were shown where the fighters launched and were told how those same fighters were recovered. Next came the gym area before lunch. They were in time to see a few of the crew getting in some practice playing a game. They were short-handed so they were just messing around."It looks a lot like soccer," Kate observed. Except they were hitting the ball off the walls. There didn't appear to be an out of bounds unless it went over the wall.

"Do you want to try it?" Vanessa inquired, seeing that they were watching closely. "We have eight and they have eight." She was including Stephanie. "Let them explain the rules while I get all your bags." Vanessa was off at a run.

By the time she returned with their bags, they were pretty sure they understood the rules. They split up, men one way and the women another. They found individual changing areas with a common area to store their clothes.

Since they were guests they were given the ball to start. They soon learned what kicking the ball off of the wall could do. They didn't score and turned the ball over easily. However, they also learned that Cabela was an excellent goalie.

It became clear that Rick wanted defense while Kate, Vanessa, and Stephanie wanted to be the ones to score. It left Alexis to roam where she pleased. Half an hour later they were down by a score of 3 to 2 when they took a break. Each side talked and drank a lot. Stephanie was already bouncing to go back out. "One last rush?" Vanessa asked. "Rick, you're going to be our lone defense man." Then Vanessa gave him an idea on how to score. "Remember to use the wall to push the ball forward."

Rick and Cabela managed to defend a couple of times. Kate had caught on and kicked it hard down the field and off the wall. She saw Stephanie running for all she was worth and heard Victoria urging her on. Kate wanted Steph to kick the ball but she just kept running until she was almost in the goalie's face, or so it seemed from her perspective. They all watched the green light go on, showing that Stephanie had scored just before crashing into the goalie. It was the end of the game and it ended in a tie. Kate wasn't sure if the other side had taken it easy on them or if Rick and Cabela had actually been that good.

They retrieved their clothes and hit the showers. Vanessa hurried through hers and waited for the others. She started smiling when the first person she saw was Alexis. It was now or never. "Hi, have fun?" Vanessa asked.

"It was different. Earth has a similar game except we don't have walls. If you kick it out of bounds you give the ball to the other side. But yes, it was fun. I'll never be a professional at it." Alexis started to smile and chuckled at her own expense.

"May I ask? …I want to know if you would be interested in dating. I find you amazingly lovely and really want to learn more about you." Vanessa felt her heart pounding since this was the moment.

"Date?" Alexis had noticed that Vanessa was paying attention but she really thought it was because she wanted to be a close friend. Not get romantically involved.

Vanessa waited breathlessly, hoping, and watching Alexis's face for any signs.

"I like you and you're very lovely." Alexis began to see her face fall. "It's just that I prefer men. I've never been interested in women that way. Please understand." Alexis tried to let her down easy without alienating her since she could still be a good friend.

Vanessa felt her heart fall to her feet. Alexis had said something, though, and it still gave her an opening. In a heartbeat she decided to take it. "Alexis and I will take the bags back to my room. I'll escort her to the officers mess," Vanessa said to Cabela who nodded.

Vanessa and Alexis were silent all the way to her room. "Please?" Vanessa opened her room and offered for Alexis to go in first.

Inside Alexis found a really small room. Her closet was bigger than this. There was a bed on one wall with storage under it. The opposite wall held a desk that was presently folded down and a small chair. She had a lone picture on the far wall. It looked to be an expressionist painting. There was also a rather small door that she was betting was a closet.

"Vanessa?" Alexis was sure she was going to ask again.

"Please, let me speak first," she pleaded with her. "Please have a seat." Vanessa waited but didn't sit down herself.

"My parents, my two sisters, the captain, the CAG, and the ship's doctor are the only ones on this ship who know what I'm about to tell you. I'm trusting you not to tell anyone." Vanessa started twisting her fingers and Alexis could tell she was nervous.

"I was young, pretty young. I knew something was wrong or just different. There was something I didn't like. I went behind my parents' back and obtained what I wanted after I figured out what it was. In those early years it was one shot per week and two pills every day.

"I did my chores for a little money and did all I could to do still more chores for neighbors or other family members. In those early years I was barely staying ahead of the shots and pills that I wanted. As I got older I took jobs that earned me more money. I saved it all, every pence that I could. I didn't buy anything with it except for shots and pills.

"Then along came puberty. At this point in time I switched from one shot a week to one shot a day and increased my pills from 2 per day to 4 per day." Alexis remained silent and watched as Vanessa finally sat down.

"For months I kept checking daily, almost hourly. I was sure it wasn't working. I even complained to the person I was getting everything from. I was told to be patient.

"Patience, if you haven't noticed, isn't one of my stronger attributes. It was also at this time that I noticed the military. I went to talk to them without my parents knowing. I was underage but he let me take this test. It was a reflex test. I found out before I left that I'd scored higher than anyone in history. Actually I still hold the highest scorer.

"But I was underage so I was told to come back when I reached eighteen. It was a little after this rejection that I finally noticed something. My ass was getting bigger and more round. A little later I noticed that my Adam's apple wasn't developing and that my voice was changing. It just wasn't getting deeper." Vanessa paused while thinking about what to tell her next.

Alexis sat up. "Steroids. Estrogen. That was what your shots were." Alexis thought she had it.

Vanessa nodded. "I was finally developing; it was just that it was slow and I was a late bloomer. When I turned 18 I was still pretty much flat-chested though my ass was looking fine as were my legs.

"What little interest I had at the time in girls was fading fast. But it never really left me. I found that my opinion on a lot of things were changing. I found myself watching the asses of everyone, both men and women. I was also becoming envious of all the women that had breasts. Big or small.

"I went back to the recruiter and he thought I was going to make a great fighter pilot. My reaction time and my grades showed that I was incredibly quick and focused.

"My parents didn't take my wanting to join the military all that well. My dad was the worst and I think that was what started it all between us, but they couldn't stop me. I joined and started taking still more classes and underwent training. I was still taking my shots and my pills.

"Estrogen shots and pills that were testosterone blockers. I was already the best in my class and was doing things no other cadet had ever achieved. That was when I finally started growing breasts.

"Captain Vettel noticed me and did a lot for me. He helped me change my name and quelled any whispers about me. He saw a brilliant future for me.

"By the time I graduated and was presented a place on this very ship, I was a woman. Precisely what I knew I wanted to be. My ever being a male was forgotten. My medical records still show me as being a male, though. To change that, by law I needed my parents." Vanessa paused and gauged Alexis's face for any rejection.

"You said you were estranged from your father." Alexis remembered her telling her that; Vanessa nodded.

"To have my designation changed I needed both of their signatures and statements in addition to undergoing the operation. I have two older sisters and while they and my mother took it well, my dad did not. …He took it very badly and almost literally threw me out of the house. He forbade me to ever come back. As far as he was concerned, his son had killed himself. That hurt for a while." She stopped for a moment. "Without his approval I was trapped somewhere in-between." She still was actually.

"You never had the operation?" Alexis asked and understood that instead of having a pussy, she still had a cock.

Vanessa shook her head. "I wear a device to hide my penis after I press my testicles upward and into my abdomen. At first it was a little uncomfortable, however, I've gotten used to it and don't really notice any longer. Even if I wear tight pants you can't tell. You might even see a little of my vulva."

Alexis sat there and tried to think. "So you look like a woman but down there…" Alexis nodded at Vanessa's crotch.

"I'm still male thanks to my dad." Until now Vanessa had thought that that was her curse, but maybe with Alexis that would change. "I'm good at my job. The best actually. No one really questions me about being a woman. I look and act like a woman."

Alexis went back to thinking. "Do you still… Can you get erections?" She was really beginning to think about it.

"I only take my estrogen shots now. Since I'm developed, it's only once a week. I no longer need to take the estrogen blockers, so yes. It takes a little…encouragement, but yes. As to having children, I don't actually know. I would need to take tests for that." Vanessa sat forward.

"I'm only asking if you want to date, Alexis. Nothing more. You're lovely and I find you extremely attractive, more than I have anyone else, maybe ever," she confessed.

"So you're a…" Vanessa nodded. She was a virgin and was asking her if she wanted to date her. Alexis was no fool, though. Dating lead to sex and eventually marriage followed by kids. If the two of them lasted that long.

"Can I think about it?" It was a lot to process, a whole lot. Plus if she was right, Vanessa didn't have much experience in relationships. Not that she had that much either. She at least wasn't a virgin and not because of her dildo.

"YES! Of course." Vanessa stood up, pulled Alexis up with her, then hugged her tightly. Vanessa felt her breasts being pressed into Alexis and hers being pressed into her.

Vanessa placed her lips at Alexis's ear. "Thank you!" She brushed her lips over Alexis's ear and let go of her. "Take all the time you need. Just let me know what you decide. We'll have to get creative about our dates, at least until the construction of the city is complete. Though I will get an occasional pass. We could go through the gate and spend a day there. On EVE or another world." She turned away from Alexis to start to open the door.

Vanessa stopped, turned back around, and leaned in to kiss Alexis on the cheek. "Thank you for listening."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"My apologies, we were delayed." Vanessa and Alexis found everyone already there including Captain Vettel.

"Not a problem, Van, our drinks haven't even arrived yet." The captain assumed that one or more of her flight had stopped her for a moment.

Cabela leaned toward the group. "In the officers mess we go by first names. Mine's Drew and the captain's is Rob." This room was far more social and not so military. "The other officers have already eaten."

Rob started the conversation. "So Earth, huh? What got you to change planets?"

Kate answered first. "My husband and his sister talked me into it. That and a modification to the initial offer. I'm captain of my own ship and I really didn't want to give that up. I wanted to be out in space."

"Being a captain is something I can relate to. I understand that you have joined Captain Hunt. It'll be good to have a civilian ship doing recon for us." A pair of aids chose then to enter and begin serving drinks, followed by taking orders based on two different options. Kate and Rick had to ask a number of questions since none of it sounded familiar.

"How is your EVE coming?" Rob inquired.

"Slowly, I have a tutor that I meet three times a week," Kate replied.

"Even slower for me. We're not actually earning money so can't afford a second tutor. I'm using a B unit and Stephanie to help me," Rick said.

Rob tried to give them some support. "You'll learn. It even takes our children time to learn. You'll get there." He glanced at them. "Have you seen plans for the city that's under construction?"

"We have; somehow I was thinking it would be bigger." Kate thought it was more the size of a small town than a city.

"We had to take into consideration the size of the moon as well as the ability for the city to try and be self-sustaining. It's possible that the numbers will be smaller than originally told. We'll all just have to wait and see." Rob didn't have any more information than that.

"My mother has plans. She was an actress on Earth. It's just that she doesn't understand a word of EVE. She thinking of renting a space to build a cinema and show movies from Earth. She still has a few issues to over come but it might work." Rick was rooting for her.

"Original Earth movies? Here?" Rob grinned. "That might be something a lot of our people would be interested in. We may have to set up a shuttle delivery to the city just for that." He chuckled a little.

Drew turned to look at Victoria. "And you, what are your plans?"

"I'm learning from Alexis. She's an excellent teacher…and a good friend." Alexis started to blush a little. "My daughter has taken to it as well."

"It's fun. I love it. I miss home a little but the new one's nice. We have… _puppies."_ Steph switched to English to say the word.

Drew tried to repeat it in English. "Pup-pies?"

"On Earth, any animal with a snout and non-retractable claws is considered a canine. Dogs are canines. Many breeds are pets. Ours are still very young. They pretty much love everyone," Kate tried to explain. "They're also both very active and love to get into everything!" She rolled her eyes.

"They love paper!" Rick added and demonstrated ripping paper into tiny pieces. It had everyone laughing. "Fortunately we don't have that much paper and what we do have is now safely locked away." Everyone laughed again.

"They've brightened all our lives. Finding them was complete luck." Kate was so happy that she had found them.

"Any word from Mom or Dad?" Alexis inquired since they had heard nothing.

"We've received no communications from the gate about them. We believe they have not yet left Earth. The gate on that end has been quiet," Rob said just as their food started to arrive.

Drew looked at Kate and asked, "Can Earth do anything to his ship? Do they have that capability?"

"They do, yes, but it's limited. It's more of a question of motivation. Do they see his ship as a threat? Though, to be honest, based on the weapons his ship has he could shoot it down before it even makes it out into space." Kate hated that part. Earth was just so far behind these people it almost wasn't funny.

"Command has requested that he find out the current climate on Earth. To determine the possibilities that one nation will attack another. If they'll turn their planet into a radioactive ball of dust or not. I'm sorry, but based on their history it's a viable concern, or worse," Rob confided.

"Worse?" Kate didn't see what could be worse.

Rob took a deep breath and let it out. "Assume for a moment that far into the future – or not so far – they manage to build a ship that can make it out to the gate in days instead of years. Granted their radar can't see it and the visibility of the gate's diminished, but for the sake of argument, they manage to find it.

"Do they send a civilian ship or a military ship? Does the military ship threaten our gate? Yes, the gate is capable of defending itself. Say they fire back and destroy the ship. What happens next? What happens generations from now?

"Earth, for the moment, appears only too willing to kill each other. What about us? Do they start a war because we built a gate in their system. Yes, **their** system; we're not there to take it. As it stands now, the plan is to just leave them alone. Unless they force our hand.

"How far are we willing to go to secure the future of our gate? …I don't have answers. Do you?" Rob asked his Earth guests.

Rick and Kate lowered their heads as did Alexis. "I don't have answers, either. Do I want them to send a civilian ship and talk? Yes. Do I fear that they'll send a military ship and decide to destroy it?" Kate shrugged. "Governments on Earth change all the time."

Rick added what he believed. "The matter may be moot soon. Our ships and their domes were Earth's last chance. Their oil will be gone in a few years. Most of the naturally occurring fresh water will also be gone. A high percentage of new drugs are discovered by using nature and Earth will have very little of that. If they survive it will be a different Earth than the one any of us know or remember."

Alexis spoke up. "The public will not allow change if it hurts them. When things go really bad they'll blame their governments when they should be blaming themselves. But they won't. When things get really bad, that's when they'll start making the big decisions. Decisions that could have been a lot less painful years ago.

"They might find a way to survive. All 6 billion of them? Very unlikely, but it won't be Earth any longer. When will that time come? I have no idea."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"Thank you for coming. I trust we all learned something," Drew said. "I look forward to my turn to come down and see you." He directed that last one directly at Victoria. Victoria stood there, allowed him to lean in, and give her a quick kiss. She blushed and smiled as he drew back. "This member of the deck crew will take you to your shuttle." He called in a man dressed in work clothes and opened the door to the landing bay.

Alexis went last and stopped at the door and turned to look back. "Yes." Alexis quickly turned and went into the bay to head for home.

Vanessa headed for her room on a cloud. "She said yes!"


	32. Chapter 32

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 32**

Alexis was watching Stephanie throwing the ball for Fly and Astro, only this time they were out in the pool area. Both were in swimsuits, though neither were presently in the water. There were steps all along one side down into the water that was technically part of the ocean.

"You're suppose to throw it in the water, Steph. We want to see if the dogs are willing to get wet and if they can swim," Alexis yelled.

"I'm trying," Steph retorted. Truth be told she really was trying. It was just that she'd thrown the ball a longer distance than required and the dogs were reaching it before it went into the water.

"Then move closer or don't throw as hard," Alexis challenged, only to see one of the clear panels that were strategically placed all over blinking. The panels were capable of a lot. It was just that they had chosen to use just the lights. Not beeps or whistles or an intercom to announce things. Unless it was vitally important. The area that was blinking was based on each bedroom so that you would know who it was for. That way you could either answer it or ignore it. In her case Alexis knew it was for her so she got up and pressed the offending panel.

"This is Alexis," she announced.

"Hi, it's Vanessa. I know it's short notice, but I have the rest of today off. I wanted to know if you were available for our first date. I can come to you or send a shuttle." Alexis thought she sounded hesitant. It was going to be their first date after all so both women were nervous.

"All of us are off today. I'm down in the pool with Steph if you want to join us." If Steph stayed it wouldn't be an all alone date and Alexis kind of liked it that way since she was still unsure about this. She had been willing to test the waters, so to speak. That was why she had said yes.

"I'll bring my swimsuit," Vanessa said quickly.

"And a towel," Alexis added.

"Anything else?" Not that she had much.

"Nope, we're in the pyramid. Just take the elevator." Alexis was hoping she came dressed with her suit carried in a bag or just loose.

"On my way." Vanessa was looking forward to this.

Alexis turned to see Astro paddling madly, possibly scared out of his mind. Steph was encouraging him and even got into the water, standing on the steps. Fly was standing at the edge, not sure just what to do. She watched Astro use the steps to get out of the pool and get inspected by Fly. He shook himself, sending water flying everywhere. "Well at least one of them got wet." She returned to her lounge chair to lie down again and wait for Vanessa.

A while later the sound of both dogs barking madly had Alexis opening her eyes to see them barking at Vanessa who looked to be trapped in the elevator. Alexis stifled a laugh and got up to rescue her. "They won't hurt you. They just don't know who you are. Come on." She reached out a hand that Vanessa took and took baby steps out of the elevator.

"Astro, Fly…SIT!" Vanessa watched, amazed, as they both shut up and sat down.

"Was that English?" Vanessa didn't recognize the word.

"Yeah, we're trying to get them to learn both languages. That way they'll obey whoever. Here." Alexis took the hand she was still holding and reached down to both dogs who promptly got back up and began sniffing.

Alexis let go and Vanessa left her hand out. "Steph, bring the ball."

Vanessa watched the child she had met earlier run their way with a yellow object in her hand. "Hi, I'm Stephanie. Everyone calls me Steph." Stephanie felt a lot more at ease here at home than she had up on the ship.

"I'm Vanessa. My friends call me Van," Vanessa smiled while still being sniffed.

Steph offered the ball to her. "You want to try? All you have to do is show it to them then throw it."

Vanessa took the ball using the same hand, made sure both saw that she had it, then threw it. Both ran off after it while barking loudly. "Those are the dogs you talked about. …Interesting." She had never had a pet or ever seen a dog. "Where can I change?"

"Over there," Alexis pointed. "There are bathrooms if you need one while down here." Vanessa started walking while watching Stephanie intercept the dogs and take the ball and throw it.

"Interesting." Vanessa had never seen anything like this before.

It was the only suit she had and it was a one piece that covered up almost everything. It was backless and it had a cut that helped to accentuate her legs and make them look longer than they were. She left her clothes hanging or folded up and stepped out. She found Alexis standing there wearing a bra and panties. "You're gorgeous and sexy," Vanessa whispered to herself. Alexis was showing far more skin than she was and she really wished she had another suit. She apologized for how she looked. "It's all I have."

"You look great." It gave Alexis a chance to actually see more of her. Her breasts were larger than hers or more accurately, they were shaped differently and filled the cups nicely.

She also looked down at her crotch. "Where… How do you hide it." Alexis remembered what Vanessa had told her about having a cock instead of a pussy.

"I press my testicles up into my abdomen and fold my penis between my legs. This suit is about as daring as I've been in a long time." She greatly feared that her penis would suddenly slip out of the suit and embarrass her.

"I don't see a thing." As far as Alexis could tell she didn't have a penis.

"Good. How do you use the pool?" She didn't see any tubes leading to the top.

"We use the elevator. The same one you came down in. Just press the proper… I'll go with you. I was just lounging doing nothing. And this is a date." Alexis began walking to the elevator.

"I don't get much practice at this. I'm usually deployed and we don't have a pool." Vanessa knew how to swim but she didn't get much practice.

"I'll rescue you if you drown." Alexis jumped in and started swimming to give Vanessa some space.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis thought Vanessa was starting to get the hang of it. They were on their second trip down and were presently in the second pool and Alexis was watching Vanessa doing a maneuver on the edge just before you fell out the bottom when she saw something. It had Alexis swimming over to Vanessa after she surfaced and started kicking her legs to stay afloat. "Van, your… your penis is showing." Alexis looked down just as Vanessa did and watched her place a hand there. It was the first time Alexis had seen her penis and now she knew she hadn't been lied to. She didn't want to admit it, but seeing it was a little thrilling.

"SHIT!" Vanessa tried to use one hand to stuff it back into place but it was too difficult.

"Go down to the restrooms," Alexis suggested and watched Vanessa dive and fall out the bottom then dive again and land in the ocean. She was already walking quickly to the bathroom by the time Alexis was landing in the ocean.

Alexis stood outside and waited. Eventually Vanessa came back out still wearing her swimsuit. "That was embarrassing." Alexis saw that her whole face was still red.

"You told me the truth." Alexis liked that part.

"I like you. Lies would only hurt any chance we have." Vanessa didn't want to destroy them before they even had a chance.

Alexis opened her mouth to ask a question and closed it after chickening out. "What?" Vanessa had seen her do it.

"I…" Alexis looked around. Stephanie was the only one down here and Alexis knew she could swim and swim really well. She was a little ways away but possibly too close. Alexis took Vanessa's hand and went back into the bathroom.

"Lex?" Vanessa wasn't sure they were ready for what Alexis might be thinking.

"I… How big are you?" Alexis blurted. "When erect?" Then Alexis waved her hands as her face turned fiery red. "Forget I asked." She couldn't believe that she had asked that even though she was curious. She took a step to leave only to have Vanessa stop her. She would never have asked if Vanessa had been a man. All man, not just part of him… her.

"No secrets. I'm pretty much normal. About 6 inches." Vanessa wanted an explanation of what was she thinking. "Are you asking me…" She let that question trail off.

"NO! I mean…no." Alexis's voice grew softer. "I'm making a fool out of myself." Then she found herself being hugged, a tight hug.

"Talk to me, Lex. I promise not to hide anything. I've already told you my biggest secret."

Alexis let her arms wrap around Vanessa and let herself feel her body next to her. She found a place to put her head since Vanessa was a little taller than she was. She even allowed herself to feel Vanessa's breasts pressed into her.

"I've never thought of myself as being interested in another woman. I like men," Alexis admitted.

"I've got news for you – I'm scared too. I've been taking risks ever since I met you. Risks I've never taken before," Vanessa confided. "So you don't find me attractive." She was confused because Alexis was holding her and pressing herself into her.

"No, not that. I mean yes, a little. …Oh, I don't know." Alexis pressed her face into Vanessa to hide.

"I find you amazingly attractive. May I…may I kiss you?" Was she pushing her too far?

Alexis looked up at her; she already knew that Vanessa was very pretty. She also saw her head bending down a little and her lips were getting closer. Alexis could feel her heart start to pound in her chest. She was about to kiss another woman.

Soft lips touched soft lips. The kiss was soft and quick. Then there was another, only this time tongues touched. The next kiss was more open mouth with tongues probing and searching and fighting.

"We need to stop or I'll never fit into my suit," Vanessa warned. If she was wearing her clothes she could kiss her all day long and not worry. But there wasn't really anyplace to hide her penis that was slowly waking up.

"Sorry." Alexis didn't mean to make her uncomfortable.

"So we can kiss." Vanessa was smiling and Alexis was starting to blush. She had kissed a woman and she'd liked it.

"First base," Alexis whispered and saw Vanessa's look of confusion. "It's an Earth saying," she said, knowing that now she would need to explain. "First base is kissing. Second base is touching. Third base is oral sex while fourth base is…sex."

"I see. One more first base and then back to our date?" Vanessa asked and found herself being kissed that immediately became a much more passionate kiss.

"I look forward to second base," Vanessa murmured as they began to leave.

"Me, too. Maybe on our second date," Alexis suggested.

"So you're willing to go on another date with me?" Vanessa was in heaven at the very idea.

"I still have a lot to learn about you. So yeah, if you want." Alexis almost couldn't believe it. Dating a woman.

"I'd like that very much," Vanessa admitted.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Alexis watched the shuttle with Vanessa inside it fly off up into the clouds before she lost it. She was still smiling. It had been a fun first date as well as enlightening.

"I didn't know." Rick's voice had her spinning to look at him. "You've made a new friend." The two of them had been together all day.

"Yeah." Alexis thought back to the pool. They'd never really kissed again, at least not a deep kiss like those. "Our day off is almost over." It was back to work tomorrow.

"I see the pyramid is still only half done. How's the island coming?" He and Stephanie were handling the domes.

"We've almost divided all the plants we can. We just don't have enough of them. At least not the ones we want. Maybe next season," she shrugged. "How are the domes?" They couldn't bring any of it down, of course, but they still needed them.

"We get our own visitors, just in smaller groups. So far eating Earth food has been a mixed bag." Then Rick started chuckling. "You should see some of the reactions the tigers get. I've watched grown men running for their lives."

Alexis began smiling, knowing that those two were basically kittens. They had been hand fed since birth after all. "How's Kate? Do I need to give her another piece of my mind?" Her sister-in-law had proven to be stubborn.

"She's good. I think she's dying for Mom and Dad to get back. She wants to go out and do some looking around. I hope Dad's ready for her. She's going to want to learn how to pilot his ship." Rick was smiling widely.

"How's learning EVE going?" Alexis watched his shoulders drop.

"Learning a new language is a pain. Almost nothing is even close to English. Stephanie's doing so much better than me. Another year or two and she'll be speaking, reading, and writing like we do." Rick had been impressed so far.

"Lex… What are we going to do for meat when what we have in freezers on the _Valley Forge_ runs out? None of us are actually earning money. How much of yours did we burn through?" Rick's fear was that the three of them had bled her dry.

"I don't have much left. I don't know how much Dad has, either. Even if Mom gets all of her movies I don't know what we're going to use for her to rent a space in the city." Alexis was worried about that as well.

Rick began chuckling and saw the look his sister was giving him. "We have lots of Earth food. We could open a restaurant that specializes in it. But that would leave us with the same problem."

"What to use to rent the space." They had a problem. "Maybe a family meeting after Mom and Dad get back," Alexis proposed. Then she frowned briefly. "Hopefully they remembered to stop and get more dog food. We have a lot, but is it enough to last 14 years for each dog?" She sighed. "I'm going to go get B12 to test the water and apply treatment before the sun goes down." She left him and headed for the pool.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"What's happening?" Martha had fallen asleep and woke up to red lights everywhere.

"We've been sitting on top of the South China Sea for a while. We've been watching them attack and occupy various countries. It looks like they've decided we need to be removed or just scared off," Jackson answered as he checked his screens.

He applied power to the weapons and prepared the engines for them to move if he chose to do that.

"What have they done?" Martha tried looking out the new screen but didn't really see anything.

"We've got a missile headed our way. It's got a nuclear tip; I'm waiting for it to leave the atmosphere so that any leftover parts will burn up on reentry," Jackson explained; he locked in on the missile and was ready to fire.

"What's…left?" Her eyes widened when she realized what he meant. "You're going to blow it up." Martha hated violence.

"Well, for damn sure I'm not going to let it hit us and kill us," Jackson countered grimly. "Firing." He used his major weapon on the top of his ship and ripped the missile to pieces. "Target destroyed. Keep your ears open, Phil." He wanted to know what their reaction was.

"Now what?" Martha asked.

"To get your pass for your movies, we have to obtain information about the situation here. We haven't completed that yet. Plus Alexis requested that we stop at a Petsmart and get more dog food and other things."

They sat there for a while until Martha got hungry and thirsty. Jackson joined her. Soon all three were sitting where they could, eating what they'd brought with them. "Richard is better," Martha commented, but continued to eat.

Jackson was all set to respond when he heard a beeping noise. He went to the cockpit and sat down. Martha, he found, was right behind him, drink in hand.

"Are they attacking us again?" Martha tried to look but didn't see anything.

Jackson shook his head. "Not us." He found the alert and did a more intense scan. "I think India has decided that China has gone too far. I've got… four Indian bombers, each armed with a nuclear device. I think China's about to get hit hard." He watched the four low flying bombers suddenly jump up high. Then they turned back the way they'd come. "Here it comes." Jackson stood up followed by Martha.

Two bright flashes suddenly bloomed into existence followed by two more. They could barely see the mushrooms that followed at this distance.

"OH, MY!" Martha had seen pictures and movies that simulated a nuclear explosion. She'd never actually seen one with her own eyes, though. "Who did they attack?" She felt terrible for whoever was under all of that.

He had no idea just who or what was involved in those and was shaking his head. "Looks like we'll be staying a little longer. This might be the start of something."

Martha stopped looking at the mushrooms. "Jackson, please no." Surely he could do something.

Jackson sighed. He could understand what Martha was feeling and asking of him. It just wasn't as simple as that. "Look, love, if I involve us in this, the people that allowed us to come here will be angry. If the people at the gate find out they might invalidate our code to go back. Earth is supposed to be left to its own devices. Their future, if they have one, is in their hands."

"We can't do anything?" Martha was ready to plead with him.

"Who or what do I shoot at? India used bombers. Do I leave orbit and go into the atmosphere to shoot them down? And just whose bombers do I shoot down? Everyone's? Over an entire planet?" Did she understand just how much space that really was? "All of those bombers are manned, Martha. Are you ready to kill people?"

She looked at him and with her eyes, pleaded for another option. She wanted to save people, not kill them. "We can't do anything, can we?" Martha said resignedly. All she could do was watch.

Jackson could only shake his head. "There's nothing I can do. Earth is on their own. We'll stay another couple of days then go home." They only had about another week of food anyway. "After we stop for dog food."


	33. Chapter 33

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 33**

Alexis and Victoria effectively had the day off since they'd divided all the plants that they could. They'd filled the small island with plants, less than half of the island that their house was on, less than half on the pyramid, and they still had yet to put any plants in the house.

"What do we put in the house or out on the balconies?" Victoria asked as they were walking to the balcony just as the dogs caught up to them.

Alexis and Victoria used the door while the dogs crashed through their doggie door at a dead run. "I know Steph has holes that just need dirt. Out here and pretty much everywhere else, we're going to need pots. That we don't have and not a lot of money to buy them." As yet Alexis didn't have an answer for that.

They watched as both dogs walked on the grass. Astro lifted his leg on the pole while Fly squatted. They were both praised and given a treat that were hidden away out on the balcony for just such an event.

"A couple more weeks and we'll have these two trained to come here even from downstairs." It was their dream anyway. Alexis had a question. "So you and Commander Cabela?" Victoria stopped to look at her. Alexis smiled slyly at her. "He kissed you and if I'm not mistaken, you kissed him back."

"He's nice and Steph didn't hate him at first sight." In her eyes that was a major plus. "We actually have a date in a few days. Can you and Rick keep an eye on Steph?" Victoria needed someone to watch over her daughter.

They watched Astro and Fly blast through their doggie door to go back inside. "We'll get her to watch the dogs. It'll keep all three of them busy." Alexis started shaking her head as they both came hurtling through the doggie door at full speed. They each had a ball in their mouth. Then they dropped their balls and started barking. Alexis was all set to ask what was with these two when they heard the sound of a shuttle coming in to land.

Alexis wasn't expecting Vanessa for almost another week. She was going to come down for dinner and a movie. Victoria wasn't expecting Cabela, either.

Astro and Fly beat them to the elevator and refused to come out. But they couldn't let them run out of the elevator and get crushed when it landed. So they held them by their collars as they watched the shuttle land. Alexis recognized it. "That's Dad's shuttle! Mom and Dad are back!" She waited for the door to open before putting Astro down; both dogs bolted for the door once released.

Alexis and Victoria were waiting just past the dogs when they saw Martha step out. "MOM! What's… What have you done!" Martha came out, carrying something in each arm. "Who is this?" Alexis took one of them from Martha's arms as Astro and Fly did their best to get a sniff.

"We stopped to get dog food as you asked but they also had these two little guys," Martha replied and handed the other puppy over to Victoria.

Alexis knelt down so the dogs could finally get nose to nose. Victoria did the same. Instantly Astro and Fly decided that the far too small puppies should play with them and were spinning and barking. Alexis decided otherwise and stood up with the puppy. "Okay, Mom, what are they?" They didn't look much like these two.

"The card said this one is an American Eskimo." Martha reached out to pet the all white dog save for the black nose and black mouth. "And this one is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel." Martha reached out to pet the puppy in Victoria's arm. It was mostly white with brown ears, a partially brown face, and a large brown spot on its back.

"Yours is female while this little guy is male." Martha petted the spaniel again. "The cards didn't give names."

Alexis wasn't mad but she did see a problem. "We don't have the food." They needed food as it was.

"That won't be a problem." Jackson showed up at the door carrying a 50 lb. bag of puppy food. "The shuttle's full and I'm going to need another 3 or 4 trips to bring it all down. We also cleaned the vet out of almost everything he had. He's going to be mad when he gets in but I left him all the American money I had on me." Jackson didn't think it was near enough, but he was betting or hoping that he had insurance.

"Let's get these two on the grass. They need to learn." Alexis headed for the elevator.

"Yes, please! I need to take some cleaning supplies up to the ship." Jackson was happy to have them off his ship.

Martha partly defended the puppies. "We had a few…accidents. His ship is rather smelly now." Martha, Jackson, and Phil had sort of gotten used to it until they opened the shuttle's door and got fresh air.

"I need to check the filter for the environmental system, too." Jackson had work to do. "Where is everyone? We have a lot of bags to unload and load." His back was already aching.

"Kate, Rick, and Steph are on the _Valley Forge_ today," Alexis replied.

"I'll stop and get them on the way back to _Martha._ And don't be gone long, we have a lot of bags to unload," Jackson warned since he needed help.

"As soon as you come back with Steph so we can leave the dogs with her, I'll help." She didn't want to leave the puppies with two overactive older dogs that didn't know better. "Give me yours." Alexis took the spaniel from Victoria.

Getting Astro and Fly to come with her into and down in the elevator then out to the balcony wasn't a problem. Alexis sat on the edge, put the puppies on the grass, and tried to make sure Astro and Fly didn't overdo it.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick lifted the last 50 lb. bag of dog food into place in one of the storage closets. "I think my back's broken. In fact I'm sure of it." He put his hand in the middle of his lower back, pushed on it, then arched with a groan just to prove his statement.

"I don't suppose EVE has acupuncturist? Or a chiropractor?" Kate was with her husband. "And just how did you two get all of that on the _Martha_ in the first place?" The four of them were in pain after all that lifting.

"The same way I got your parents' caskets onto the ship," Jackson answered and started down the stairs to go lie down on one of the sofas.

Kate was all set to question why they couldn't have used it here. Then it hit her. "Because it's too big to go in the elevator." She just answered her own question.

It wasn't just the numerous big bags of dry dog food. They were each guessing that they had taken every can of dog food as well.

"We still have to take all the veterinarian supplies off the ship," Martha reminded them. She wasn't nearly as tired since she had barely helped.

"Maybe later, Mom. I'm going to go change and turn on the hot tub." Alexis wasn't interested in unloading anything.

"Hot tub!" Kate turned around to head to their own jetted soaking tub in their room closely followed by Rick.

"I don't think I can make it to our room. I don't suppose someone could bring the hot tub down here." Jackson willed his back muscles to stop spasming.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"Steph, sweetheart, what are you doing?" Victoria watched as her daughter came charging down the stairs then hid behind one of the sofas.

A muffled voice rose from behind the piece of furniture. "Playing hide and seek. Alexis taught it to me."

Victoria thought about it for a moment. Her daughter was obviously hiding but who was seeking her? Her unvoiced question was soon answered when Astro and Fly came flying down the stairs. They were soon followed by Odie, the American Eskimo, and Dug, the spaniel.

The two newest were still learning the stairs so they took them far more carefully than Astro and Fly were doing.

Soon Victoria, who was actually trying to quietly read, heard her daughter squealing, followed by her running from living room to living room with two dogs hot on her heels while the other two were trying to keep up.

"Take the dogs outside, sweetheart, so they can pee," Victoria called out. They were learning that Odie and Dug couldn't hold it like Astro and Fly were doing. When they needed to go, they did, no matter where that was.

"Okay!" Steph ran up the stairs with Astro and Fly right behind her. Odie and Dug took the stairs one step at a time.

"No, no, no! OUTSIDE!" Victoria looked up to see Kate carrying Odie in outstretched arms in front of her. Victoria was fast learning a few words of English especially NO, PEE, GO POTTY and most definitely OUTSIDE.

Victoria sighed; she **had** tried. They had cleaning supplies stored in a number of places so that they could clean up the _accidents._ Since Kate had found the _accident_ she had every confidence that Kate would clean it up. It allowed her to go back to reading.

Kate blocked the doggie door to keep all four of them outside on the balcony; she went to clean up the mess Odie had made. When she went back to open it again she found Alexis and Rick pulling up tiles. "What are you two doing?" They were altering the look of the balcony.

"We're going to increase the grass space. We have four dogs now so they need more space," Alexis stated; it seemed obvious to her.

"We may need to do it again in a few years," Rick remarked and stacked another tile on his pile.

"Why?" Kate could see the need for more grass since they did have more dogs now.

"Puppies," Alexis answered and put another tile on her pile.

"Oh, God!" Kate lowered her head and rubbed her forehead. They'd learned from Martha that Odie and Dug were not fixed yet. She had neglected to mention all that the card had said. They had already assumed that Astro and Fly were also not fixed.

"We're going to be overrun by dogs." They might soon be outnumbered. Humans typically had one at a time. Dogs had liters.

"We can open up a pet store specializing in dogs," Alexis suggested and kept adding to her pile.

"We can call it Castle's Space Sprockets. Or Castle's Cogs," Rick offered. That had Alexis snorting out a laugh.

"I need a drink." Kate turned on her heel and went back inside.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Later, after planting the grass seed, Kate found Rick in the kitchen cooking dinner. "Is Vanessa staying for dinner?" She knew she and Alexis were in the theater room watching a movie.

"I assume so. I'm cooking with her joining us in mind," Rick answered absently, focused on getting dinner ready.

"Good, Alexis could use some friends. I wonder when that officer from the same ship is coming down. He and Victoria have been kissing more lately." Kate sat down to watch Rick.

He laid his knife aside. "Worried because he's military?"

"A little. It might be tough on both of them when he's deployed and not at home for months at a time." Kate was only a bit concerned.

Rick offered what little support that he could. "Families on Earth seemed to have worked it out. I'm sure the families here are the same. She'll probably find out that other wives or girlfriends are in the same boat. They might be of help."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

"I enjoyed our date," Vanessa told Alexis just at the entrance to her shuttle that would take her back to her ship. Vanessa leaned in closer. "Second base." She smiled wide and saw Alexis smiling back at her.

"Is one week from now still good?" Alexis asked, making sure their next date was still on.

"I think I can make that work. I just have to confirm it with CAG," Vanessa replied.

Alexis was almost giddy just thinking about it. The craft Vanessa flew was a fighter and it was a single seater. However, she was also cleared to fly a bomber and it had two seats.

"I'll have to help you into your flight suit. The inertia dampers will prevent you from feeling the Gs on our turns. It's mandatory that everyone wear a flight suit in case the system fails, though.

Vanessa warned her about what was to come. "You're not going to like it. Most of us don't. It's like wearing another skin. You and I are going to need to be naked while we try and get into them. I'll send a shuttle to pick you up."

"I can deal with that." Alexis wasn't ashamed of her body.

Vanessa smiled. "One week." She leaned her way, kissed Alexis soundly, and was kissed in return.

Alexis watched the shuttle leave. "I get to fly a bomber. I get to fly a bomber." She was dancing in the elevator on her way down.

Technically the seat she was going to be sitting in was the back seat where the weapons guy sat. Vanessa would be up front doing the flying. She wasn't going to have access to the flight system. It was a minor distinction in her mind.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

 _It was almost a week later_

Jackson had to wait for the shuttle to get clear before he could land his shuttle. Downstairs in the living room area he saw Victoria and that CAG guy from the carrier. He'd forgotten his name. They were busy kissing.

Jackson found Kate in the kitchen eating an ice cream cone. "There another one of those?" He was in if there was. He watched his son create one for him.

"It's the only ice cream we have so hopefully you like it." Rick handed it over and went back to eating his.

"This is good." Jackson had half of it gone in no time. "We've been given a job; just you and me. We won't require Phil for this one," he told Kate.

"Are we getting paid?" As a group they had almost no money.

"We're a private contractor so yes, we're being paid," he confirmed.

"Cool, so what's the job?" Kate popped the last of her cone in her mouth and started chewing.

"A pair of destroyers spotted something entering our system. They promptly lost it before they could get a good scan of it. But… They also spotted something crashing into one of the rocks that makes up some of the planets in this system.

"Our job is to find out what hit the planet. If we can, we are to retrieve it if it's small enough to fit in our bay. We leave tomorrow, which means today I need to introduce you to your spacesuit. We'll be doing some walking." He meant now or as soon as he was done eating his cone.

"Weapons?" If it came here and crashed, what was it?

"That, too. I've arranged for your training on one of the battleships. We need to go." Jackson shoved the last of his cone into his mouth and stood up.

"See you later, babe." Kate gave Rick a quick kiss.

"Do **not** shoot a hole in the hull of their ship," Rick teased as Kate stuck her tongue out at him. But she was smiling as she left with Jackson.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate watched them fly to and into either the same ship or one just like it. It was still impossibly huge in her eyes and it still had the open umbrella look on one end as well.

They were escorted to a room that had suits hanging all over. They were even on racks in the middle of the room. "I don't think you want me stripping you down and showing you how to put one of these on, so I've arranged for a female to help you. It might not be easy on you since she doesn't speak a word of English," Jackson said just as a woman walked in.

"She's going to pick everything for you; just try and follow her orders." Jackson grabbed a suit and then pulled down what looked like a catsuit to Kate.

She did the same and took her into a side room. She said something in EVE and then mimed taking her clothes off.

"Strip, right." Kate began taking her clothes off until she was standing there in her bra and panties only to have her motion they had to be removed, too.

"I'm married just so you know," Kate mentioned and finished stripping.

Soon she was being helped into putting on what she was calling a catsuit. It was tight. It stretched over everything and actually compressed her breasts until she looked flat-chested. She finished and turned to see that her suit was broken down into pieces and was hanging in what looked like a coffin. Kate watched her talk and motion for her to step inside.

"This system looks like a really bad design. What if someone wanted to put one of these on really fast because there was a massive hole in the ship?" Shaking her head, Kate stepped inside, turned around, and wondered what she was to do next.

She saw her hold up her hand; Kate thought that meant stay put and stand still. Then suddenly parts of her suit were being pressed to her body and locking into place. It only took seconds and she abruptly found herself encased. Including a mask that went over her face.

All at once the inside of the head piece lit up and she was seeing myriad kinds of EVE symbols all over the place. Then she heard EVE except that it sounded male. She could see the woman standing in front of her and she appeared to be looking her over.

"What?" Kate didn't understand a word.

"English. …Converting displays to English. I am Max. I am your suit assistant. I am here to monitor your suit and provide advice based on the circumstances you find yourself in. Please take a moment to study each display."

Kate moved her eyes to study each item that she could see. "You may ask for information that you do not see presently displayed," Max said. She was still looking everything over when suddenly a suit walked over, stopping right in front of her.

She heard Jackson's voice even though she couldn't see his face. "What do you think?"

"This is a space suit?" Kate was thinking it was far too complicated for a simple space suit.

"This, my dear Katherine, is a Marine Combat Suit. I was afraid if I told you that you wouldn't accept. From here we're going to the combat bay where we'll obtain our training weaponry which will be attached to your suit. It'll be nonlethal, though it will fire something so you can see what it does."

"You've worn one of these before?" Hadn't he spent a number of years on Earth?

"I've had a little training in a much earlier version. It didn't do half of what this thing can do. We're going to learn together," Jackson said.

"In just one day?" She was thinking it was going to take her weeks to get used to this thing.

"It's all we have. …Did I mention that we can also fly once they attach the optional jet pack." He was smiling widely.

"You mean like that jet pack back in the city?" Kate had wanted to try that but found out it required a license and she didn't have the money to get one. Plus she'd been proven right. She and Rick had been bleeding Alexis dry of her money.

"Similar just more compact." Jackson was looking forward to that part.

"COOL!" She was thinking this might be fun instead of work.

"Have your suit assistant set the power at 5% or your first step is going to take you through that wall," Jackson pointed.

"Power. This is a power assist suit?" Suddenly this entire exercise was suddenly becoming fun.

"5%, Max," Kate called out and actually saw a display pop up that showed her power setting and how much power the suit had remaining. "What happens when I run out of power?"

"There is an emergency power reserve that will allow you to walk for a time. How long will depend on how much power you require," Max answered.

"And when even that power runs out?" Kate queried.

"Nothing," Max replied, meaning she would be doing nothing. No movement and no environmental.


	34. Chapter 34

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 34**

Kate had enjoyed her training time. The suits that the EVE Marines had available to them had proven to be amazing. She'd expected to be handed a weapon. Instead she'd looked on as small pod was attached to her lower upper arm on each side. Then they had asked her to display her shoulder launchers.

Max had done that for her and they inserted a long thin clip into each shoulder that then disappeared back into her suit. Then they attached her flying jetpack.

She had quickly found out that yes, the suit was a bit constrictive. Meaning she couldn't bend like she could without wearing one. Her continued practice doing yoga had helped to keep her limber and flexible. So much so that some of the positions she and Rick took while making love were unique.

However, what she gave up in flexibility she recovered by increased strength and stamina. The training had been hard but not really tiring. She was just starting to get the hang of it when their time was over.

"What do you think we'll find?" Kate asked Jackson as he started to enter orbit above the rock that was a planet for this system.

He glanced at her. "Try to keep your imagination open. They reported that something came blasting into the system at an insane speed and then crashed into this planet. Though what landed here should have been destroyed on impact and create a nice large crater."

"So which of that didn't happen?" It was why they were here, she was guessing.

"It all happened. They monitored the crash, detected a crater, but the debris it ejected was small. That and the speed of the object. It was a speed far above what is the norm when caught in a gravity well," Jackson answered.

"Powered? So did it crash or did it land?" Kate was catching on.

"That's what we're here for and the reason for the Marine suit. I chose to spend a little of our fee to borrow these beauties," Jackson said.

"We don't get to keep these? Well, damn!" Kate was disappointed. She was hoping to go home with them.

"Our fee for this trip isn't enough to purchase even one suit, let alone two. Put your helmet on, we're going in for a landing. We'll be about a mile away from the site. It's large enough and flat enough for us." Jackson set the controls and put his helmet on.

They both saw Max activate and began reading the displays on the inside of their helmets.

Getting from the ship to the site wasn't hard, though with each big stride, thanks to little to no gravity, they needed to make sure they didn't stride right into a boulder.

"The crash site is 100 of your yards ahead," Max said. After one more big stride Kate started walking.

The site turned out to be a crater, all right. A pretty good-sized one. "Do we have a look at the bottom?" Kate meant did they jump down.

"Use your visuals," Jackson replied and Kate began kicking herself. This suit could do things that she wasn't used to.

She started looking all around until her visuals gave her a clue. "Max, can you scan the bottom for me. It looks curved and depressed like something big and round made this hole."

A moment later she heard, "I believe you are correct. There appears to be the remains of a round object at the bottom. Perhaps we should retrieve some of it for analysis," Max suggested.

"I'm going in, keep watch," Kate told Jackson. She aimed for where she wanted to land and jumped.

She landed on both feet right where she wanted to. Kate knelt down to get a closer look. "Kind of looks like an egg shell." She reached out to try and pick up the single large piece. She quickly found that it was lightweight, still intact, and much too big to carry.

"Look for some smaller pieces and put them in your bag," Jackson called down to her.

"Captain Hunt, I believe I am detecting a power source. It is presently two miles out and appears to be moving. The distance is slowly increasing," Max reported.

"Gather your pieces, we have company." Jackson tried to do a visual scan to see if he could see anything.

"On my way up." Kate made a jump and landed next to Jackson. "Who, where?" She began looking the direction her father-in-law was.

"It's a power signature, about 2 miles that way," he indicated. "You take his 8 o'clock and I'll take his 4. Don't get too close yet. I want to observe first." Jackson took off, bounding away.

"Let's see what we've got, Max." Kate started bounding in her designated direction and felt her bag bouncing against her leg.

"We should be 100 yards out from the target," Max advised.

She stopped in her tracks and started looking around until finally she saw movement. "Zoom in 200%, Max." Kate had learned it was easier to ask than actually do it manually. "Interesting. What's with the tentacles? Jackson, I have the target in sight. It's about the size of a trash can and it has tentacles hanging out the bottom. They appear to be moving," Kate said.

"Wait one," Jackson responded. "I've got it. Intriguing." They both watched as it started moving. "I think the tentacles are meant to be probes and possibly legs. It looks to be hovering and uses the legs to push itself." He'd never seen or heard of anything like it.

"I'm going to move to its 9 o'clock while keeping my distance." Kate took one big bound. The second she landed, she felt a pain in her chest and ended up on her back. "I believe we have been shot. Structural integrity in that location is down to 64%," Max reported.

"I've been shot, Jackson!" Kate heard cursing in return.

She was just beginning to stand up. "I am detecting weapons fire," Max advised and that was quickly followed by a large explosion.

"What the hell was that?" Kate demanded loudly.

"It blew up," Jackson answered. "I didn't hit it that hard. It must have destroyed itself." He'd only hit it twice.

They were both soon standing over what was left. "Let's fill our bags and get back to the _Martha._ They're going to want to interview us." Jackson knelt down and started collecting parts.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"I'm Captain Alfaro. The Fleet Admiral is on his way over. In the mean time our team will start to analyze the parts you have brought with you." He looked from one to the other. "I understand one of you was shot." He couldn't tell which of them.

"That was me," Kate said. "It sent me flying and I landed on my back. Max said that area on my suit was down to 64%."

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

They'd all been given something to drink while they talked and allowed the team to analyze what they'd brought back. Hours later, one man and one woman entered the conference room. Fleet Admiral Bottas looked up. "Tell me you have something." He wanted answers.

"We have an initial analysis along with some theories," the man responded.

"Based on these samples," the woman brought up a set of images on the wall-sized screen, "we believe the device was inside a globe. We are still analyzing what the globe was made of. However, for the device to survive that kind of impact, we are guessing that its strength is close to the strength of our standard hulls."

"As to how it got here, we have an idea about that," the man added.

"We believe that it was shot here. There is no residue on any of the pieces that would suggest a propellant. Meaning it didn't fly here. Based on the scans of it entering the system and the crater that it made, it leads us to this conclusion," the woman stated.

"This, however, presents us with a concern based on the distances involved here. The next closest system is several light years. For this thing to have been shot here from a planet would mean that it would have been traveling for a lot of years," the man remarked.

"Did the analysis of the device suggest the age of it?" Bottas inquired, thinking that might tell them something.

"That's just it, sir, the device was basically new. Little to no age," the man said.

"And we have a theory about that also. We've reached a possible conclusion that it was fired from a ship. One that wasn't yet in the system but close enough for it to reach this system," the female posited.

"A ship outside of our scanning range." Bottas didn't like that. He focused on Castle and Hunt. "Neither of you fired at it until after it had shot one of you? Explain again how you approached it." He listened to Kate and Jackson recount the actions they'd taken.

"We believe it is a probe, sir. It was shot into the system with the intent of it crashing into a planet. It then maneuvers around taking scans, perhaps even gathering material for analysis," the man offered.

"A probe." It made sense to him. "An armed probe that's programmed to shoot first and not ask questions later except to maybe analyze what it shot and killed." Bottas was both angry and concerned.

"To do the amount of damage it did suggests the weapon was at least on a par with our own," the woman pointed out. That had Bottas reaching for a comm panel on the table.

"Bridge. This is Fleet Admiral Bottas. Send a message to all of our carriers. I want their patrols to be doubled." He ended communication. "If there's a ship and they're willing to shoot first and not ask questions later, I want to know about it.

"Captain, plan a quad of our destroyers. Send them out in the direction that this probe came from. Have them send out their own probes. Not too far, I want them to have backup in case it isn't a lone ship doing a survey." Bottas wasn't planning on taking chances.

"Yes sir." The captain made a mental note.

Bottas swiveled his chair around. "As for you two, I have another task that you'll get paid for. Same rate. Trade in your damaged suit then I want you two to start surveying all the other rocks that are in this system. The miners haven't said anything, however, I want you two to survey their planets as well. If they did this to this planet, what have they done with the others already? Plus keep your eyes open for something that's already in the system. I hate surprises."

Kate was willing to admit that she was giddy as they replaced her damaged Marine suit with a new one. "We get to keep them!" She was rubbing her hands together gleefully. They watched them load her suit with new weapons and reloaded Jackson's suit.

Then they had to go through being taught how to assemble the suit on their own. And they'd have to come back here to get new ammunition for them.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

They were both back in their clothes and in the _Martha_ _,_ flying toward home. "If they knew we were here, I wonder why they'd send a probe designed to land on a planet to survey it?" Kate mused while he flew. "What do you think?"

"An armed probe. Meaning they didn't care if it was occupied or not. Shoot whoever gets in the way," Jackson said, thinking aloud. "I'm more interested in how far it had to come to get here and how long ago that was."

"You think they have a gate like yours?" Kate queried.

He shook his head. "We have destroyers that far out already and all they've seen is our gate. I'm more interested in this being a probe for something else."

Kate thought about it. "Like the minerals you found on those moons?" It was why they were there, after all.

"Possibly. What if those same minerals mean the same to them as they do to us? Even more importantly, how do they plan on getting here to get them?" They'd got there by gate and simple flying.

Kate understood the distances involved. Just how many years it would take Earth to reach another system? "You think they have a drive like _Star Trek_ or maybe _Star Wars?"_ she queried, knowing he would understand.

Once again Jackson shook his head. "We've worked out that FTL's impossible. But…what if they have developed a drive more like _Battlestar Galactic_ _a_ _?"_

Kate didn't think so. _"Galactica._ A jump drive. Point to point. If I remember correctly they had a distance problem, though. Jumping beyond what they knew was called jumping past the red line. They might jump into something they don't want to."

"Hollywood," he huffed. "It made good drama. But yeah, what if? If you knew it was going to take you say 50 jumps to get here, what would you send?" he speculated just as he entered orbit so that they could get in the shuttle and go home.

She now saw a reason for the probe. "I'd send a probe well past the red line and have it send back everything it saw and found. Cut down on the time it was going to take me."

"Now how many ships would you send? Just one Battlestar or a whole fleet of them?" He started getting out of his seat.

"I'm not military. So maybe just one. If I could send the coordinates home I could send an entire fleet in one jump. If they have that range," Kate said as she followed him down into the shuttle.

"Jump an entire fleet into any spot they choose," Jackson offered for her to think about.

"Jump in and start firing before we even recognize what is happening. …Fuck, no!" Kate hated her thinking.

"We need to have a chat with that Fleet Admiral. Maybe he has already taken that into account and maybe he hasn't," Jackson remarked as Kate nodded in agreement.

"So we start our search tomorrow?" Kate asked. His mouth settled into a grim line and he nodded.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"Welcome aboard." Vanessa was beaming as Alexis stepped off the shuttle. "I have the next 24 hours off thanks to flying too many missions. The captain has had us flying a lot of missions lately."

"Can you still fly or are we doing something else?" Alexis had come there to get out into space.

"I've already arranged it. We just need to get you into a suit and we can go." Vanessa wasn't planning on going far.

Alexis followed her a short distance until they entered a room filled with flight suits. "She's going to help you into a suit unless you prefer that I did it. It will simply slow us down a little."

"I'd rather you did it." Alexis sucked up her courage and listened to Vanessa dismissing the woman that she'd arranged to help her.

"In that case, start stripping. You can keep your panties but everything else has to come off." Vanessa began removing her own clothes.

Eventually they found themselves standing there almost naked and looking at each other. Vanessa loved what she saw and Alexis was intrigued by what she saw. Vanessa saw full breasts with little pink nipples, while Alexis saw large breasts with a different shape than hers and she had large dark nipples.

"The bodysuit's first." Vanessa pulled one off the rack and handed it over. "Just put your feet in the legs and then your arms into the sleeves," she explained and pulled down another one for herself.

Each kept stealing peeks as the other put on the suit. Alexis had to stop since she didn't know what to do next. "Now what?" She stood there with her breasts exposed, holding the material to either side.

Vanessa stepped up to her looking just the same. Alexis watched her grab the material and stretch it across her breasts. She hated covering up Alexis's breasts but she did it. "The suit is essentially self-sealing." Vanessa brought the two ends together and she was done.

Vanessa started doing the same to herself. "It's tight, making it a little hard to breathe," Alexis commented.

"Good." Vanessa now knew it was working perfectly. "Now comes the suit. You put it on the same way." She handed her a thicker, heavier suit.

Alexis didn't really have any trouble and found that it sealed in the same manner. Alexis felt a little weird. It was tight, not really very sexy looking, and the damn thing even had feet.

Vanessa ran her hands over the suit and checked everything. "Perfect, you're sure you haven't done this before?" she teased. "Now let's get you a helmet."

All suited up, they walked out into a bay that she'd never seen before. "WOW!" Alexis followed Vanessa over to a ship that was sitting on something. "This is it?" She was impressed. It was large; it had wings that were tilted down. There were a number of items hanging under something that was sticking out on either side of the fuselage. Alexis followed Vanessa all around the ship. The cockpit was sticking far out the front of the main body. "It looks like it's armed." Alexis was seeing what she took to be missiles and bombs all over it.

"It is. No ship leaves without being armed unless it's a shuttle. Don't worry, nothing's going to happen. In fact I don't want you to touch a thing." Vanessa finished her visual inspection and even yanked on a few things.

"You first." Vanessa motioned for Alexis to climb the ladder. "Sit in the back seat." Alexis began climbing up to a man that was just sitting here waiting for her.

Alexis sat down while he looked her over, pressed a few panels, then pulled out straps, strapping her in place. "Straps?" Alexis was thinking they would have something better.

"They're secondary; the primary is an invisible net that should already be active." Vanessa started climbing and the man did the same to her.

"He's got me connected to everything. If I didn't know better I would think I was in a medical emergency room." Alexis saw wires and a tube leading from her to the sides of the ship.

"The tube is your main oxygen. Your suit has a backup. The wires are to monitor your vitals. It'll tell me and CAG how you're doing." Vanessa had no plans to overdo it. This was just a simple cruise date.

Vanessa began powering up and saw that they were now detached from the ground systems. "All checks complete. Bringing up power. Ready for launch."

"B1, you are cleared for launch. Launch when ready," came a male voice, telling them they were free.

"Here we go. Hang on back there." Vanessa and Alexis shot out of the bay.

"WOO HOO!" Alexis screamed and Vanessa grinned.


	35. Chapter 35

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 35**

Alexis was actually paying more attention to the controls in front of her as well as one or two to her either side than she was to watching where Vanessa was taking them. The fact that she could actually read EVE was a big help. Unfortunately, most if not all of them were abbreviated in some way.

She had two screens and it looked like, after doing what she had been told not to do, she had worked out that by touching this panel here she could change what each of the screens showed.

Suddenly Alexis heard Vanessa's voice. "You okay back there? You're awfully quiet." It had her jumping and pulling her hands away from all the controls..

"Fine, just fine. Where are we?" Alexis finally started looking outside.

"We're headed into the system. Take a look at some of the rocks that make up this system. Very romantic." Vanessa rolled her eyes. There wasn't anything in this system that even resembled being romantic.

"Remember don't touch anything. Everything on this ship is live," she reminded her and didn't see Alexis yanking her hands back to herself.

Alexis tried to watch where they were going, she really did. It was just that all she saw was a lot of black. Looking at her screens and changing them was far more interesting.

Alexis was watching one screen because it was showing her EVE ships that were flying around or just sitting there. Suddenly a new one showed up. "Van, what's this?" she pointed, forgetting that Vanessa couldn't see her.

However, Vanessa didn't need a screen to see it. "Trouble, that's what it is. Can you kill all the power? Make us a hole in space?" She was hoping that Alexis had done a lot of looking if not actually touching something.

"Power off, power off." Next thing both of them knew, everything went dark in the cockpit.

"Can you still hear me?" Vanessa queried, believing that she should be able to.

"I hear you fine. What is that thing?" Alexis hadn't seen much.

"It's a ship. It's not one of ours and we're practically sitting right on it." Even though it was black outside Vanessa was seeing hints of it now and again.

"Where the hell did it come from? I didn't see anyone headed our way." Alexis had been watching her screens while she kept changing them.

"I have no idea. One second it wasn't there and the next it was. For now we're going to wait and watch." She didn't think they could attack, not with Alexis as her back seater. Plus she didn't know if this new ship was an enemy.

Problem was with all the power off, neither of them could talk to anyone except each other.

"I'm going to turn us a little." Vanessa used the maneuvering thrusters to alter their position slightly. It actually helped her see more of the ship. "It's big, about the size of one of our larger cruisers." Vanessa kept looking.

"Looks like we're just aft of their thrusters. I can just make out a large superstructure above them. I can't see anything past it. I'm going to lift us some so I can see better." She used the thrusters to make them go straight up.

"Turn us a little, I can't see much," Alexis asked and Van spun the ship a little.

"What's that large flat area?" It wasn't lit up but the sun would hit it just right for them to see. "There are two of them! Can you see them, Van? They're side by side with a blank space between them. They remind me of an aircraft carrier back on Earth. They were vessels that floated on oceans," Alexis explained.

"Our aircraft carriers don't go anywhere without support. So where are theirs?" Vanessa wondered.

"Earth carriers did the same thing. They were the center of a group. Do I power back up?" Alexis wasn't sure sitting here was such a good thing.

Vanessa wanted to wait. "Give it a moment. We will have seen it by now. Let's give them a chance to determine if they're friend or foe."

"So where are the… OH CRAP!" A heartbeat before Vanessa did, Alexis saw things shooting out one side. "Missiles?" she asked.

Vanessa watched them start to form up. "Fighters; I'd guess 40 or more on this side." She was assuming the same on the other.

"Can I power up now?" Alexis placed her finger over the first panel waiting for Vanessa to say yes.

"Give it a minute." Vanessa kind of liked where she was. Possibly close enough that they were too small and too close to be noticed on their scanners. She heard Alexis moan. "Scared?" Vanessa was thinking she probably had reason to be. After all this was a first.

"A little. But can we contact someone so we can find out if they're friendly or bad guys? We **are** armed and we're sitting right here," Alexis argued.

"If we power up and use our communications, they'll know where we are. Give their fighters a moment to get farther away." Vanessa was assuming they would get farther away. "Keep your eyes open for any flashes. That might tell us something." Like each side was trading shots.

Alexis groaned but began looking every which way she could.

"Now?" Alexis placed a finger over the first panel and listened to Vanessa chuckle.

Alexis groaning again. "NOW?!"

"Power up and let's see what is going on." Vanessa thought they'd waited long enough.

They both saw lights starting to come on and Alexis began cycling through her screens until she had one she wanted. "I have a screen that says arm bays one and two as well as the wings."

Vanessa was in the middle of calling her carrier. "Press those panels now."

"B1, targets are considered hostile. We have you on scanners. Diverting two fighters to give you cover."

"Hang onto your lunch back there." Vanessa surged out into space and then spun. "Can you target them?" If Alexis couldn't it was time to get the hell out of there.

"I have a lot of orange with a big green one on what I think is one of their thrusters," Alexis answered.

Vanessa was impressed. "Nice work, fire bay one now and get ready for one of the wings." Vanessa surged forward and saw four missiles leave their ship.

Alexis figured it was time to come clean. "I may have not listened to you telling me not to touch anything."

She heard Vanessa chuckling. They saw four explosions take place. "Get ready," Vanessa warned. "Almost, almost…" Vanessa wanted to be close. "NOW!" Vanessa yelled; Alexis pressed a panel and instantly felt Vanessa turning hard.

Vanessa flew fast away before spinning hard. Alexis saw something on one of her screens. "I've got four red little triangles headed our way."

"Can you find the jamming screen?" Vanessa knew if she had a trained back seater he or she would already be all over it. "This is B1, where the hell is that help?"

"On the way, boss," Vanessa heard, which told her part of her wing was headed toward them.

"I think I have it, activating." Alexis pressed the panel. "I've still got four little red triangles," she said and kept watching. "Where the hell are you going?" Van was headed back toward the enemy carrier.

"We're still armed and that ship still exists. Get ready to fire the other bay of missiles," Vanessa told her.

"FIRE!" Vanessa yelled. Alexis pressed the panel after seeing the green symbol on her screen. "Our last bombs are next." Vanessa pressed the bomber to go a little faster. "Where is that help?" Van called out again.

"Two down, two to go, boss," she heard almost instantly.

"He's right, reading only two little red triangles. I've got green ones all over the place as well as a number of red ones." To Alexis they were all over the place. "I've got seven other unknowns that are as big as this carrier." Alexis had her eyes glued to that screen.

"BOMBS, Alexis, keep your eyes on our target." She wasn't focusing. Vanessa feared she was looking all over the place and not on the task at hand.

"Armed and ready," Alexis said a moment later. "Ready, ready, all orange. No green." This trip wasn't working like the previous one.

Vanessa wished Alexis was more trained. He would know how to burn through the jamming. "Just get ready. I'm going to get really close this time." Even Alexis couldn't miss at the range she was thinking.

"Ready, ready…" Vanessa got in really close.

"Last two are gone, boss, you're clear," a voice announced.

"NOW, Alexis," Vanessa yelled. A moment later she turned away and added all the power she could to the engines.

A minute later a brilliant flash overtook them as Alexis looked at her screen. "The red square that was the carrier is gone. I've got two green ones on either side of us. And we're empty." Her other screen showed they no longer had weapons.

"Nice shooting, boss! Scratch one carrier. We'll guide you home."

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

They'd landed and Vanessa had escorted Alexis to a small room where both of them were being interviewed over every action they took.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist pressing panels," Alexis apologized to both of them. While the officer reviewing their actions said nothing, Vanessa took one of her hands in hers.

They were both told to wait there. Both of them sat there in silence. "Not mad at me?" Alexis was mostly worried that she hadn't kept her hands to herself.

Vanessa smiled and chuckled softly. "No, you may have saved both of our lives. Plus we took out an enemy carrier. Even if we don't know who our enemy is." Vanessa was counting it as a win.

It felt like forever until finally someone they both knew walked in. "Sir!" Vanessa stood up quickly and saluted.

"Relax. I'm here to bring you two up to date and then let you go," the CAG told them. "Eight ships suddenly showed up in the system. We have no idea how they did it. We're discounting the possibility of cloaking technology. All eight ships were destroyed. We're in clean up mode at the moment. We need information on who attacked us."

"Losses, sir?" Vanessa wanted to know.

"Four of our destroyers have damage. None are all that bad. We lost six fighters, none of them in your wing. Beyond that I don't know yet. We're still analyzing their weapons. They do not appear to be on a par with ours.

"We're still on alert, however, you two are off for the next 12 hours. I'll let you know when it's safe for Alexis to leave and go home. I trust you're not too traumatized." The CAG was hoping not as he looked at Alexis.

"I'm not sure it's hit me yet. Maybe later." Actually Alexis was feeling something but it wasn't her being scared.

"Well we're still on alert so your options of where to go are limited." He wasn't sure just what to do with her.

"I'll take her to my room. She can crash there," Vanessa offered and they were soon both walking down hallways that used to be gold and black but were now red and black.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

 **The following section is rated** _ **M**_

 **Reader discretion is advised**

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Alexis had made up her mind while they walked. No sooner than the door had closed when she said, "Strip and help me get out of this thing." They were both still wearing their flight suits.

Alexis ran a finger down Vanessa's naked breasts and while she was impressed with their size, they and the action really didn't do anything for her. So she dropped to her knees and found her cock right in front of her.

Alexis took the flaccid cock in her hand and started stroking it. Then she leaned it to take all of it in her mouth. This action had Vanessa moaning softly. Alexis kept her cock in her mouth and started to squeeze her balls.

Alexis was using every trick she had ever read about or had seen in movies to get Vanessa hard. It was taking a little longer than Alexis was anticipating. She'd always thought men could get hard at the drop of a hat. Just standing there naked should have produced an erection, at least to her way of thinking.

Alexis kept up her assault on Vanessa's cock and listened to her moaning louder and even felt a hand on her head to force her cock deeper down Alexis's throat.

Alexis had to admit that when Vanessa finally had an erection, it was a nice looking cock. Totally hairless, nice and hard, and completely soft. Alexis gave it one last lick and let it pop out of her mouth. "Lie down on your back," Alexis commanded.

Alexis watched as Vanessa got into her bed; her cock stood up nice and mostly straight. She smiled as she climbed into the bed and straddled Vanessa. Reaching down, she took her cock in hand and guided to her opening.

Just as the head passed her lips and was inside, she moaned, "GOD YES!" This was what Alexis wanted…needed. What she wanted to do was slam down and force her cock deep inside her, and while she was wet, she decided to go slowly.

Finally Alexis was sitting on Vanessa with her cock deep inside her. "Damn you're tight." Vanessa had never felt anything like this before.

"You feel so good." Alexis lifted up before pushing back down. "So good." Alexis chose to start grinding her body around Vanessa's cock before lifting back up again and pressing down.

Soon Alexis was bouncing up and down on her cock. She placed her hands on her breasts to massage them and pinch her nipples. Looking down she saw Vanessa doing the same to her breasts. While it was interesting to see, Alexis chose to close her eyes and keep fucking herself using Vanessa's hot cock.

Alexis wasn't close and yet she heard Vanessa moan loudly and lifted her ass up off her bed. Alexis looked down and saw a small blush start to overtake her face. Vanessa had climaxed inside her. Far too soon.

Alexis continued to fuck herself with Vanessa's cock, it was just that it wasn't the same as her cock started to soften. "DAMN!" Alexis wasn't happy. Still she could get some relief.

Alexis lifted up and let the now soft cock slip out of her pussy and started working her way forward until finally her pussy was over Vanessa's face. "EAT ME!" Alexis lowered down a little and finally felt Vanessa's tongue on her outer lips.

Vanessa had obviously not eaten pussy before, either. "Use your fingers, spread my lips wide." Alexis was going to have to tell her what she wanted. "Now push your tongue far inside my pussy." She sucked in a breath when Vanessa did as she was told.

"Now lick my clit. NO, not that fast. Softer, longer strokes." Alexis was finally starting to build up to an orgasm. "Lick my lips." Alexis wanted to slow down and build up to a crushing orgasm.

"GOD, YES, just like that. Don't stop." Somehow Vanessa had found just the spot. Alexis couldn't help but move her body and chase after Vanessa's tongue.

Vanessa loved what she was doing. Alexis actually tasted pretty interesting and she loved hearing her telling her what to do. "Talk to me," Vanessa got out between licks.

" _Talk to her?"_ She **was** talking to her. It was why it felt so good. Did she mean talk dirty sex to her? That would be new and different. Alexis just wasn't sure that was what she wanted. Still Vanessa had asked her.

"Eat my pussy just like that, slut. …Are you stroking your cock, slut?" Alexis bent around a little to look. "Stroke your cock, slut." Alexis didn't turn back around until she saw Vanessa stroking her own cock.

It gave Alexis an idea so she lifted up, instantly missing her tongue, and worked at turning around. Alexis pressed her pussy toward her mouth while she bent down so that she could lick her cock and take it into her mouth.

Her cock was still soft and Vanessa wasn't licking like she had been. "Lick my pussy, slut." Alexis tried to push her tongue into the slit at the top.

"My nose is in your ass." Vanessa wasn't sure she liked this position.

"Shut up, bitch, and eat my pussy." Alexis pressed her pussy all over her face till finding her mouth again. "Lick my clit, slut."

Moments later and Alexis was getting closer to climaxing. But she was finding that Vanessa's cock was still soft which was starting to piss her off. So she took one of her balls into her mouth and sucked on it.

Alexis let her ball fall out of her mouth. "Lick my clit faster, slut, faster." Alexis was almost there and took the soft cock back into her mouth.

Finally Alexis had to let the soft cock fall out of her mouth. "GOD, YES! My clit, slut, keep licking my clit. Now suck on it. Take it in your mouth." She knew her clit had to be nice and hard and large by now.

Just as Vanessa sucked her clit into her mouth Alexis screamed out her orgasm. Alexis found her voice because Vanessa had stopped. "Don't stop, slut!" Alexis wanted that second orgasm.

"No! Suck my clit, slut, not lick it." She wasn't doing it right. It only took a little sucking for Alexis to scream out her second orgasm. It was just that Vanessa didn't stop and her clit was now far too sensitive. So Alexis pulled away.

Once Alexis had felt the last of her last orgasm leave her she worked on turning around and laid down partly on Vanessa and let her arms wrap around her.

Alexis snuggled her head into Vanessa's neck and placed a hand on one of her breasts.

Their first time hadn't exactly gone how Alexis had dreamed. Still after having sex and having arms around her felt much better than doing it herself.


	36. Chapter 36

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 36**

Jackson and Kate had been given the job to survey each and every rock in the system. They had even been allowed to keep their Marine power suits.

"So far we've found nothing. Do you still think the two events are related?" Kate was beginning to believe him. They'd all listened to what Alexis had told them about her attack on an enemy carrier.

Combined with what Victoria was learning from her dates with Commander Cabela who was CAG on his carrier, they were starting to piece together what had happened. What they'd learned was that even the military didn't understand how the enemy had gotten into the system. They had, however, sent out probes that were now in orbit above every planet in the system. Each was packed with sensors. If it happened again they would know.

Their questions had gone unanswered. If the higher ups in the chain of command knew anything about the enemy they weren't talking.

"Yeah, think about it. They send in a probe and the minute it starts functioning, it sends out a signal of everything it sees. It probably doesn't see all or maybe any of our ships. How those same ships got here, I'm still working on that." Jackson was beginning to get ideas, but that was all he had.

"I know I'm using movies here, I mean it's all I've got, but what if they got here just like that Battlestar that Rick's so in love with?" Kate knew her husband was rubbing off on her. "We jump because we have a gate. What if they've found a way to put it on ships. The bigger the better." It was all she had.

"That would present a problem. They likely know how to get here now and if they had time to get a signal out they'll also know what's here. Or at least some of it." Jackson wasn't a fan of her theory.

"Okay, I'll bite. But why would they come back? They lost the first time. I mean why risk it when they don't know what they are getting?" Kate didn't see any benefit of them coming back and fighting for the system.

"Well one, you're assuming that they don't know what's on those moons. Two, say you're right that they can jump in. Did they only need the one probe or did they need to triangulate for different probes? And three, and possibly the worst, what if they long ago decided that this system was theirs and were willing to fight for it no matter the cost?" Jackson had his own worries.

"We've got what, 150 military ships not including the _Martha?_ Would they really?" It sounded insane to her.

"You're used to Earth and now EVE. Basically the two are similar. What if they're all military?" Jackson then suggested a race that Kate could relate to. "What if they were Klingons, for example."

Kate sat back in her seat. "War." She hated the idea.

"Interstellar war and until we find them, we fight it right here, in this system." Jackson knew of only one way of taking it to them. And that had its own problems. They needed a gate and he had no idea how long it took to construct one. "You're out in space, Kate. Just be thankful that EVE can fight back." Earth would have been conquered in a heartbeat.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

Rick was just getting a drink when he spotted Alexis sitting in one of the three living rooms. Just sitting there doing nothing so with drink in hand he sat down in a chair opposite of her. "What's with the sad face?"

Alexis jerked her head to look at him. She hadn't heard him approach her and sit down. "You've been practicing your ninja skills." She tried to deflect and change the topic.

"I've gone from four people on a space ship to just two, followed by living here with…," Rick had to count and actually used his fingers, "seven. I could use the practice and you changing the subject isn't going to work. So why the long face?"

"I broke up with Vanessa. She's nice and I like her, I just don't like her like that." Their one and only time having sex together had shown Alexis that it was never going to work.

"Vanessa was one of your best friends." Now Rick was sad with her and for her. "What do you mean _like that_?"

"She wanted to be my girlfriend. Not just girlfriend but _girlfriend_." Rick might be her brother but she was just a little uncomfortable saying lover. Even if they had had sex together. Even if it had been just once.

"Oh. OH!" Rick sat up straight, his eyes wide in surprise. "I didn't know I thought she was just a friend. Have you two… I mean I didn't know you swung that way." He was learning something about his sister that he didn't know and wasn't sure he needed to know.

"Apparently I don't." Alexis retreated further into her chair. It had been nice, unsettling, and really weird. She was starting to chalk it all up to having survived an attack on an enemy carrier. They hadn't been killed and Alexis wanted to feel alive again. Plus if they were going to work, she needed to know if she could love a woman who just happened to have a cock instead of a pussy.

Rick wasn't sure what to say. He'd never thought of his sister as being gay. She had always shown an interest in men. Problem was, save for the contractor that was still working on the city, there weren't that many men around. Unless you counted all the military up in ships spread out all over.

"We could ask for a tour of the city while its under construction. Maybe there's someone there that will get your attention." Suddenly he felt like a matchmaker. "I'm beginning to sound like Mom." Rick made a face of disgust.

That got Alexis chuckling and lightened her mood. They were both saved when all four dogs started barking their heads off. "They were all sleeping last I knew." Rick had seen all four of them piled up either next to each other or on each other.

"Sounds like we have a guest." Alexis was looking at where they were barking and it was in the direction of the elevator. Both of them were up, then up the stairs to where the dogs were still barking, just not as loudly.

"I'll corral the dogs; you see who our guest is." Rick picked up the two puppies that were growing like weeds, and blocked the entrance to the elevator while Alexis went up.

Moments later she came back down carrying a large pot. "We have a delivery and it's a big one. It's all pots. Different shapes different sizes." Alexis was beaming.

"Don't look at me, I don't have any money." That was a white lie. He had money it was just all Earth money.

"I have some but not enough for all this. Dad, maybe?" Alexis wondered. They both knew Victoria had about as much money as Alexis did and if they combined it they could afford most of what was upstairs. But doing that would totally wipe them out financially.

"Kate, perhaps. She and Dad are the only ones making money but Dad suggested that he's almost tapped out, too," Rick remarked.

"They're both out searching as part of their contract. Let's let them unload it all and then bring it all downstairs. Then we can disperse them," Alexis said. "The living rooms need pots, up here could use a few pots, my bedroom needs pots, the balconies could use pots."

"Take the dogs outside, they just got up." Alexis suddenly feared all four of them would start to pee indoors or worse.

Rick was still holding two of them. "Let's go Astro and Fly. Outside." He walked to the door leading to the patio and watched Astro and Fly blast through the doggie door. He set his two down and told them to go outside. "I said OUTSIDE!" He pointed and gave the first one a little push. The second followed everyone else easily enough.

He left them to do their business, returned to Alexis, and up to the roof to start collecting pots. They filled the living rooms with pots first. They did the upstairs, took some to Alexis's bedroom door, took a few to his and Kate's room, and left the others for everyone else to pick and choose from.

"First come first serve." Rick and Alexis looked at what was left up on the roof. It was still a lot but most of the really good ones were gone now. "Now we need plants and a lot of dirt."

"I'll go change and we can get started." This kind of work was something Alexis could get behind. They didn't need the same kind of plants for indoors. These plants just had to look pretty and didn't need to produce fruit like all the others needed to do.

Rick had containers filled with dirt and was being inspected by all four dogs until Alexis showed up with plants and instantly she had all four dogs. "Be careful over there. Astro has already tried to lift his leg on one of the pots."

"Oh swell." Alexis glared at the four of them. "Where's your ball?" She thought maybe a distraction would take them off what she and Rick were doing. She smiled as she watched Astro and Fly take off. "Where's your toy? Go get your toy." Alexis needed the other two to be equally distracted. While the two older ones loved balls, the two younger ones loved stuffed toys.

She was momentarily satisfied as those two ran off to find a stuffed toy. It was short lived; a ball was dropped next to her. She picked it up and threw it for all she was worth. Then it occurred to her that when the other two came back with their toy, they were going to want to play tug of war with it. When she finally won she was expected to throw it.

"Where's Steph?" Alexis yelled. She could keep these four busy while they worked.

"On a date with Victoria and her boyfriend." Rick had forgotten his name. "The Commander from that carrier. He's giving them a tour of the ship followed by dinner in the officers mess."

"Great!" Even though Alexis thought it was anything but. "At least someone has found somebody," Alexis muttered to herself just as a tennis ball was dropped next to her. She groaned.

Then she had a devilish idea. Alexis picked up the ball, made sure both dogs saw it and threw it at her brother. She hit him with it. The dogs bolted after it. Alexis went back to work, smiling wide, until suddenly there was a stuffed toy being shown to her. She quickly snatched it out of a mouth and threw it at Rick, too. Then she went back to work.

That lasted for all of about 3 minutes when a tennis ball came bouncing at her with two dogs moving at a dead run after it.

Neither of them went back outside to get more dirt and more plants. They had both learned that keeping four dogs occupied was now their top priority. That or they would find something else to keep them occupied. And that usually meant something had to be destroyed.

 **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::** \- :: - **:::**

"That's twice today," Jackson pointed out.

"I'm fine. …And sorry." Kate had rushed to their only bathroom on the _Martha_ twice already and it had been enough for Jackson to cancel today's physical search of one their rocks. Throwing up in her suit would have been real trouble.

"Where are we going?" Kate watched as one of the battleships that were in this system kept getting closer.

"It's the closest ship that has a doctor and you have an appointment as soon as we land." Jackson flew closer.

"I'm fine! I'm not sick!" She hated doctors and all she really needed was to lie down and rest.

"Humor me. I'm the dad here and besides, you don't have a choice since you haven't learned how to fly the _Martha."_ Jackson wasn't giving her any options. Kate sat in her chair, stewing and directing daggers at him.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Kate eventually found herself lying on a bed with a clear panel basically hovering above her. She was still enduring all of it and had listened to the doctor and what she was guessing was a nurse talking to each other. Naturally she didn't understand a word they said. Well, almost not a word. She was getting better at translating but what she understood didn't help her any.

She watched who she was now sure was the doctor look right at her and tell her something. He sounded really happy. "I'm sorry I don't speak EVE yet," she told him, then listened to the two of them talking to each other.

Jackson stepped inside after a different nurse had come and gotten him. "Okay, what's wrong?"

Kate listened to all three of them speaking in EVE. "Somebody better start talking to me or I'm going to lose it!" She'd had enough of this. She wasn't sick!

"It turns out you were right. You're not sick." Jackson decided to play with her a little.

"I told you!" Kate was still trapped under a glass panel or she would get up and punch him in the arm or something.

"You do, however, have a parasite that's causing you to throw up." Jackson did his very best not to smile.

"A WHAT!?" Kate tried to sit up only to hit the glass panel. The nurse retracted it so that she could. "Parasite?" Kate glared at all three of them.

The doctor wasn't following and he didn't understand why his patient was so mad. Then Jackson told him in EVE what he had told her. He burst out laughing and turned his back on them all so he could hide his smile.

"JACKSON!" Kate was starting to smell a rat.

Jackson finally gave in knowing Kate was going to get back at him some day. "Your parasite is a baby. You're 5 weeks pregnant. You're having morning sickness." Jackson had seen it before, though for Martha it had been more all day sickness.

"Pre…pregnant?" Kate barely got the word out. "Pregnant," she stated with more surety. She'd been sterile for so long she had sort of forgotten that the damage had been repaired. She placed a hand over her mouth and began to cry while laughing. "Pregnant. …Boy or girl?"

Jackson chuckled. "This may be EVE but even they don't know yet."

Kate saw the doctor turn back around and start talking to Jackson. "He understands that you were previously sterile. As a result he wants you to see a doctor every two weeks during your pregnancy. He's also sending you home with some medication and a large dose of vitamins," Jackson translated.

"Oh and he says _congratulations."_ Jackson smiled at her, knowing what Martha was going to think of this. Her first grandchild.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

Rick and Alexis had finally broken down and locked all four dogs outside on the patio after making sure they had lots of water, puppy food, and lots of shade. It allowed them to go back out to get more dirt and more plants.

They were on their way home with each using a car because they needed the space to carry it all, when they saw a shuttle landing on their house.

"Now who?" Alexis questioned while looking at Rick before lifting up a container of plants.

"A better question: is it good news or bad?" Rick was more worried about that than who it was. He was thinking the enemy had returned and something had happened. "Kate, Victoria, or Steph?" Rick walked faster to the elevator with his container of dirt.

One at a time they went upstairs only to find no one there. "Hello?" Alexis called out, still not seeing anyone.

"Up here," came Jackson's voice.

Both of them ran up the stairs. Alexis got her question out first. "What happened, Dad?"

"Where's Kate?" His dad was here but his wife was missing.

"Kate's in your room. Doctor's orders." She'd been told to take it easy until after she finished the medication that would help with her morning sickness.

"DOCTOR!" Rick ran to their room to find out what was wrong.

That left Alexis with her father. "Dad?"

"Before we even reached our first stop, Kate spent the morning throwing up," Jackson began.

"Oh, God. Is it this place? Did we miss something?" They were on an alien planet. Did they have to abandon the place now?

"It's not this place. Not exactly. Kate has a parasite inside her." Jackson did his best to hide his smile just like last time.

"Parasite!" Alexis shuddered. "What did it do? How bad is it?" Maybe they **did** have to leave here.

"It'll come out in about 8 months or so." Jackson was starting to lose his struggle and felt a smile start to form.

"Eight months. It'll come out…on its own?" Alexis didn't remotely understand until she saw her dad start to smile. "DAD!" She was ready to hit him.

"Kate's about 5 weeks pregnant," Jackson finally told her.

"Pregnant!" Suddenly Alexis went from worried to happy and hugged her dad for a moment that both of them actually liked. Then she let go of him. "Parasite, huh?" She smacked him in the chest. She was all set to bend his ear when Rick's voice came out of their room.

"PREGNANT!" Then they both heard him whooping it up.


	37. Chapter 37

**Valley Forge**

 **Chapter 37**

 **Epilogue**

 _It is roughly_ _10_ _months later_

The construction of the city was complete. They'd finally managed to plant all of the plants in the pyramid, on the roof of their own house, as well as both islands. They'd even started on the roof of the city. However, finishing that was going to take at least another year. They needed time for plants to grow so that they could divide them up and replant them.

They also hadn't seen any of the enemy that had managed to get deep into this system without them knowing it. Kate wasn't due to start helping Jackson again for another month.

Rick, with Kate and baby James, was stopping their car just outside of where Kate's parents were buried. Kate got out carrying James while Rick got out and picked up the bundles of native flowers that were in the back.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad. I hope you're still not mad at me for bringing you here. It's just that my husband was here and he was right, Earth was in trouble." Kate paused and let Rick place the flowers.

Both had been here many times before and had even waved when they didn't stop. Today, though, was a first of many visits to come for James. He needed to learn who was buried here.

"I brought James so you could see him. He's gorgeous and I love him so very much." Kate felt her eyes start to water and looked down at James to see him yawn and go back to sleep.

"The morning sickness wasn't so bad, but my labor lasted 31 hours, I think." Kate looked at Rick who had never left her during the entire time.

"Closer to 32," Rick corrected her though 31 wasn't far wrong.

"I thought he was never going to come out and see the world. Now that he's here it presents us with a whole new problem, but we'll think of something." For now he was sleeping in his crib in their room. The problem was that they didn't have a bedroom that was just for him. It was an issue they had yet to solve.

"We have to go, Martha's cinema is opening tonight. We haven't seen that much of it so it'll be interesting to see what it looks like. She hasn't even told us what movie she's showing for opening night. We also need to check in with our contractor. We're opening a small restaurant. It's going to specialize in Earth food. The food on the _Valley Forge_ will keep us open for a few years.

"Both places need do really well. We have so much debt." Kate began shaking her head. They had both gotten loans that would allow them to build. The structure of each loan was at least favorable to both of them. It was just that they weren't making much money until both places were up and running.

"We need to go, we're running late." Rick hated to stop her. These were her parents and he could appreciate that she loved them.

"We need to go. We'll stop on the way home and tell you about it." Kate turned away and got into their car easily enough. She watched Rick get in and press the panel to resume their trip. The cars were self-driving. All you had to do was power them up and set a destination of which there were very few, then sit back and enjoy the ride.

It was starting to get dark but the car and the canopy over it had just enough soft lighting that you could see where you were going.

"What do you think Martha selected for her first showing?" They had talked about it a little before but hadn't reached a consensus.

"I'm still betting it's a classic. I was even thinking it would be a silent movie. It's just that… oh, I don't know. A silent movie might to too old for this place. At least until they get used to coming here," Rick was guessing. As to just what classic movie, he had no idea.

"OR it's not a movie at all. Maybe it's still frames with a radio broadcast of say _War of the Worlds."_ Rick thought that might be good.

"Ooo." Kate actually liked the sound of that. "We'll have to bring it up to Martha if she hasn't thought of that." Kate was an instant fan.

Once they finally arrived they found that her space was essentially the dead center of the city, just off of a large park. Just reaching it had been eye opening. After getting out of their car they had to walk past a beach on either side with a pool in the very middle. It was a simple pool, though it was large.

Once inside they found that the city had 11 floors to it. At every other level starting with the ground level, there was what was effectively a people mover. It never actually stopped and was divided into 2 cars that could each hold 4 people.

It slowed down at each platform and once free of the platform it sped up substantially before slowing down at each platform for people to get on or get off. This system was in the middle of the city using a large circle.

Far on the very outside of the city were hundreds of cars just like the ones they used. These cars were also located far to the center on a much smaller circle. Martha's cinema was just off of the people mover.

As Rick and Kate walked toward the people mover they saw across the way where their restaurant was only just beginning construction. They were going to stop there on the way out to get a closer look.

They found it easily enough and even though it wasn't going to open for another hour with the first showing 30 minutes later there were already people lined up to get in.

There was a central location to actually purchase old fashioned tickets with doors on either side. Off to either side was a space that showed today's film. But they weren't yet close enough to read it.

They could read the name of the place, though. _CINEMA TIME._ All around it were lights that reminded both of them of old time neon lights as the entire entrance was filled with the lighting.

As they stepped up, Rick pointed out to Kate that there were gold stars in the floor with people's names. Delighted, Kate smiled as she walked slowly toward the others so that she could read some of them. John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, Fred Astair, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Cyd Sharisse, and Charlie Chaplin just to name a few. Kate smiled when she saw Katherine Hepburn's name; after all, her mother had her named for the actress.

"Katherine!" Martha was happy to see them finally show up. Martha wasted no time in taking the baby from Kate's arms. "And how is our young man behaving?" Martha stroked a finger over his pudgy sleeping face.

"Asleep thankfully. He's let us know that he has a healthy full set of lungs." Rick and Kate were thankful that the noise in the bedrooms never actually left it.

"Well if he starts you leave him with me. I know how to make babies stop crying." Martha looked at Rick when she said that and it had Kate grinning. "What do you think? You should see the interior." She was more proud of that.

" _The_ _Wizard of Oz!?"_ Kate finally saw the posters. They looked new and yet they looked old at the same time. "Why that movie?" She was curious.

"It's a classic and it's for everyone. Wait until this one is over and the next movie's playing." Martha smiled widely as she saw the looks she was getting, asking her what was next. _"Oz the Great and Powerful."_ Martha was proud of her choices and watched as everyone else started smiling.

"Are you planning on keeping up the theme, Mother?" Rick was curious.

"Perhaps, we'll have to see. Jackson brought back so many movies. I have so much to chose from. I don't really know how I'm going to choose." She had thousands of movies available to her.

"Any silent movies?" Rick was curious.

"I do, actually. Perhaps after _Oz_ I'll switch to comedy. Laurel and Hardy, 3 Stooges. Ooo, maybe all the Adams Family movies. So many to choose from." Martha was almost overwhelmed with choices.

"Whatever you choose will be a winner, Mom." Alexis was sure of it as she looked at the line.

"In EVE or English?" Victoria asked with her date Commander Cabela and her daughter.

"Thanks to Jackson's friend Phil, it's going to be in EVE. If people don't like that we'll switch to English with subtitles in EVE." Martha had made a choice but was ready to change it. She knew the lip movement and the words weren't going to match.

"Phil's a genius. The voices are going to match and not just be mono EVE words over English. It will sound like it's supposed to." Jackson was glad they had hired him for the task. Even if it had increased their debt.

Alexis changed the subject. "Have you looked at your restaurant yet?"

"We saw it from a distance. We were thinking of stopping to look on the way home. Provided this one will allow it." The baby was still asleep and still tiny in her arms even if you could barely see him since he was all wrapped up.

"Have you decided on a theme? I know you don't actually have walls yet." Alexis was curious and her brother wasn't talking.

"We've narrowed it down some. One has a Wild West look. Meaning old wood floors, wood paneling and a wood ceiling, wood tables and chairs. Replica heat stoves around the place. Even getting the workers to wear Wild West uniforms.

"Another is outdoor garden setting. Transplant the largest tree we can into the very center. Place tables with large umbrellas all around and string lights from one side to the other. Try and make it look like it's outside. Even down to the cobblestone floor.

"Then there's one based on 1950s Earth. Steel chairs, vinyl tabletops, little black and white TVs spread out all over. Flowery curtains on the front windows. Maybe a tower of old TVs behind the bar. We just don't know what to show on the TVs.

"It's only going to be open for lunch and dinner 5 days a week. One of our problems is the ceiling height. We're on the ground floor and renting the space above us was just too expensive. The location of the kitchen is already set and can't be moved," Rick explained.

"Like all the other places it's kind of small. Half of the place is kitchen so we have to be creative in seating to get the most people." He'd killed a lot of their choices because of that very problem.

"I had the same problem. I have higher ceilings and wanted these balconies on either side and one or two in the back. I just didn't have the space. Even my snack and drink area is really small. Plus since I'm public, I needed these large restrooms taking up more space." Martha hadn't anticipated all the obstacles she'd had to deal with.

"We have the same problem. It reduced the number of seats we can have." Rick agreed; it had proven to be an issue.

"Come inside before we open and see for yourself," Martha motioned and then stopped at the doors. "I think someone needs a new diaper." She handed James over to Kate. "We'll wait."

"Where's your new guy?" Martha didn't see him anywhere while she looked at Alexis.

"Thomas got shifted to night duty yesterday; he sends his apologies. I'm not sure how this is going to work. I work days while he sleeps. He works nights while I sleep." The only saving grace so far was that they hadn't yet had time to talk about it.

Martha wrapped an arm around her daughter. "You two will work it out. Remind me what he does?" They hadn't been dating all that long to her memory.

"He's a nurse in our one and only hospital. He wanted to work in the Emergency Room and I think to do that he had to accept working night for now." Alexis didn't actually know since they hadn't talked about it much yet.

The city only had one hospital and was centrally located. However, there were clinics of all kinds spread out all over.

\- :: - **:::** \- :: -

They were leaving after the first showing and they were all just hanging out just outside. "What did you think?" Martha asks all of them and waits for her husband to translate to EVE.

Steph was still softly singing "The Yellow Brick Road" which had Martha smiling.

"It was amazing. The imagination required to develop such a story." Victoria had loved it.

"The only down side I can see is the words. The translation sounds good it just doesn't match what people are saying," Cabela commented.

"I can't fix that. Maybe we'll have to switch to subtitles." Martha wasn't sure that would be better.

"Give it a chance, Mom. I sort of remember the movie in English, but the translation to EVE was almost perfect. It didn't sound like mindless people talking. Give it a chance. People come here knowing what they're going to get." The cinema was advertised as showing Earth movies converted to EVE.

"And what do you think of the inside?" Martha had heard a lot of oooing and awwing when they had stepped inside.

"How many does it seat, Martha?" Kate inquired since it looked a little small.

"One hundred sixty-four. I really wanted a balcony though the one I ended up with is really small, it only seats twenty-two." Maybe she should have left that part out.

The cinema had two sections of seats with three rows to walk in. The seats were a dark red as was the carpet. The walls were an ornate gold in color with spots of red. It included fake windows a couple of which actually had a red overhang using cloth. The screen was hidden behind a bright red curtain that was pulled away to display the screen.

However, it was the ceiling that made the place. It was a sky blue ceiling that darkened to a deep navy blue as the lights dimmed and then you could see the twinkling stars of the night sky repeated in the background overhead.

It had a 60 foot screen to show the movies on.

Martha scrunched her face over the balcony that she had allowed to be built because she wanted one. She explained that it had taken up some of her floor space to put stairs on either side. It only had two rows of seats and it really was kind of small.

"It's a perfect teenage make out space," Kate remarked softly while smiling wide.

Martha hadn't thought about that. Had she unintentionally given this city a cinema that was perfect for some teenage kissing and groping like the old days? "Great, the kids will love me while the parents hate me," she laughed. Then she listened to Victoria and Cabela laughing with her. Right up until Victoria looked at her own daughter. They were going to have to have a little talk about that balcony and when she could start dating.

"You know, Lexi, when it comes time for us to start work on the roof, we can work days and you could work nights. Talk him into helping you. It'll just be the two of you. …All alone." Rick offered the latter softly after leaning in closer.

Alexis hadn't thought about that, but her brother had an idea. They could talk about it. She had no intention of asking him to go back to days. This was his job and his career. Hopefully they could work around it.

"We need to put this one to bed and I need to feed him soon, so we really do have to leave." Kate was holding her son again after Martha had given him up.

"Thank you for coming." Martha hugged her, kissed James's barely visible forehead, then hugged her son.

"We'll try to be quiet when we come home," Jackson said since there was a baby in the house now.

Alexis took her leave as well. "I'm going to go to the hospital. Maybe his night's boring and he'll have time to talk."

They were stretching their luck and they both knew it, still they took the time to go right up to their future restaurant that didn't even have walls yet. It was just a little empty space.

"I know we decided on serving Earth food and that you're going to have to train them how to cook it, but how long are we going to be able to do that?" It was one of Kate's main concerns.

"We have enough right now to last two people about 10 years. The domes will help us with some produce and fruit but only for a few weeks at best." Rick wasn't telling her anything new.

"We're small and only have 8 tables inside unless they approve our request to put 4 tables out front in an outdoor patio. Sooo… 4 maybe 5 years at best. After that no more Earth food here or on the _Valley Forge._ We'll have to switch to EVE. Though if we blend in EVE at the start, it will last longer," Rick said thoughtfully.

"You're the cook, Castle, so you decide. I'll support whatever you choose. We really need to choose a theme so we can start ordering things, though. Floors, even plates and glasses, and no matter which we decide it is going to put us into debt." If the restaurant didn't work they were in deep trouble.

Rick listed their 3 choices. "So the Wild West, the outdoor look, or the 50s?"

"Can we agree to remove one now and think about the other two?" She liked all three, but each had its own pros and cons.

"The 50s mean lots and lots of TVs and we don't even yet have an idea on what to show on them since they really need to work and not just take up space." Rick liked the idea it was just EVE didn't have TVs and to get them, they needed an artist to draw them from their descriptions and then find someone to build them.

"If we get the outdoor patio I think that will kill the 50s. I can't see us putting TVs outside," Kate said. "Plus a patio is just that. Open and airy. Where do we put the TVs out there?"

Rick nodded. "So the 50s theme is out. That leaves the Wild West and the outdoor patio look on the inside." Right about then Kate was interrupted when James woke up and began getting grumpy.

"We need to go, babe. We can talk about this later." Kate started walking toward the people mover to take them back to their car.

 _Late_ _r_ turned out to be on the people mover. "Does our Wild West idea have staying power? I mean initially people will come just to see, but will they come back?" Was the Wild West idea just a fad that would die a quick death?

"That only leaves the indoor-outdoor theme. EVE has one of those already if you recall our picnic lunch," Rick reminded her.

"That's different. That really was an outdoor picnic. This is more…" Kate stopped and thought about it. She saw Rick looking at her, asking her to continue.

"An outdoor café. Our Earth food is going to go fast if all we serve is just that. An outdoor café reminds me more of those Paris cafés." Kate tried to think this through.

"A Parisian café? Meaning cheese, wine, fresh baked bread, sandwiches. We could grill the dinners. We're going to need to change the kitchen equipment if it isn't already too late." Rick thought he was following along.

"We don't have French wine or French cheeses but for the rest of it… Can you duplicate French food?" Kate couldn't remember him every cooking that kind of food.

Rick started shaking his head. "Not really, no. But maybe we don't have to." Now he was thinking. But about then James woke up totally and informed everyone in earshot that he was **not** happy.

It had them hustling to their car where Kate could lift her top with no one watching and let James nurse all the way home. "Hi Mom, hi Dad." She waved as they went past without stopping.

"You were saying?" Kate wanted to get back on topic.

Rick brushed his knuckles across her cheek, grateful that she believed in him. "French cafés are breakfast and lunch then close the doors until dinner. They're heavy on eggs, soups and wraps, baked bread which we can use as a lure. Who doesn't like the smell of fresh baked bread? We could use fans to force that smell out of our space. Breakfast sandwiches, cold sandwiches or subs if you prefer, panini and other hot sandwiches, crepes, coffee especially, beer, wine, decadent deserts. All of those I can do. The beer and wine will have to come from EVE. It's the dinners that are going to take some thinking."

"What about all those dinners you cooked for all of us on the _Valley Forge?_ A lot of that was amazing. The real question is can you teach who we hire to cook like that? You still have to help Alexis. The roof of that city is huge." Kate wasn't exaggerating any. The amount of dirt and plants they were going to need was almost mind-boggling.

Rick sighed and considered it. "Bread, breakfast, and even the hot and cold lunch. Yeah, I could do that. The dinners, no. Very unlikely. Besides, where are we going to get the cheeses?"

"We'll work it out, babe. Maybe Jackson can convince them that we need to check on Earth again. Fill the _Martha_ with all we can get our hands on. Our space is weeks away from even being ready for the architect and engineers yet." Kate had faith.

"Which is a good thing. We need a menu if we've decided on an indoor/outdoor Paris café. We need time to make the tables, choose lighting. Refrigerators, freezers, refrigerated display cases, ovens, grills. I'm not sure we have the time you think we do." Rick was thinking they were already behind the eight ball.

"I'll talk with Jackson tomorrow. I hate to keep stealing from Earth and people that worked hard for what they've got." Kate had worked hard to be a captain of a space ship. Other people had worked hard for what they had.

"Insurance, Kate, they have insurance. Plus if we don't get it all from one place it won't hurt that much. Have we decided?" They really needed to reach a conclusion and get started work on that.

"A Paris café. We're going to need a lot of pictures so people on EVE can replicate it." Kate was willing.

"Good, I'll start teaching you how to make the soups and bake bread and maybe the sandwiches. James can grow up around nature and the back area of Café Parisian." Rick reached across to stroke the head of his son who was still attached to Kate's breast.

"I hope we're not over extending ourselves." It was one of Kate's other fears. "I love you, Rick." Kate looked down at her son and across at Rick. She felt the tears start, realizing how much her life had changed. For the better.

"I love you too, Kate." Rick leaned across to give her a quick kiss. "Not sorry you chose to stay here?" Were they past those days?

Kate shook her head and felt a tear escape and travel down her face. "No… My family is here. Home is where that is. Wherever that is." She got it now. She'd been stubborn and stupid but she had learned.


End file.
